


Only This Seems Clear

by enigmaticblue



Series: More Than Was Lost (Has Been Found) [4]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, F/M, Family Feels, Hydra (Marvel), M/M, Science Husbands, Team as Family, Thor: The Dark World
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-07
Updated: 2016-11-07
Packaged: 2018-08-29 17:03:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 52,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8498143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enigmaticblue/pseuds/enigmaticblue
Summary: Bruce and Tony know there’s a mole in SHIELD, and they have no idea who they can trust, but they’re as committed as ever to saving the world. Jennifer learns that balancing being a superhero and being a lawyer doesn’t come without consequences, and Pepper just wants to keep Stark Industries on the right track.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Only This Seems Clear](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8495023) by [Digitalwave](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Digitalwave/pseuds/Digitalwave). 



> Written for the 2016 Marvel Big Bang. Title from the Kongos’ “Come With Me Now.” Originally, this fic was supposed to cover Avengers: Age of Ultron, and then I realized there was no way I could do it justice. Just know that another long, plotty story is on its way. 
> 
> Many, many thanks to digitalwave who went above and beyond for the art. Go show her some love!

 

Bruce hates this sort of thing—he always has, and he probably always will, no matter how long he and Tony are married. And _this_ , right here, is why. 

 

The woman leans in close, a hand on Bruce’s arm, and her ample breasts brush against him. “I just love what you and Mr. Stark are doing, Dr. Banner! I think the two of you might singlehandedly save the planet.” 

 

She smells as though she bathed in strong perfume, and breathing through his mouth does Bruce no good at all, because then he can _taste_ it. He resists the urge to be pedantic—he and Tony are two separate individuals, therefore they aren’t doing anything singlehandedly. 

 

And then he suppresses the urge to make an innuendo about the proper use of hands, because while Tony might have rubbed off on him, he’s an adult and fully capable of representing Stark Industries. 

 

“Bruce!” Tony swoops in and neatly separates him from Perfume Lady, and Bruce cannot remember her name for the life of him. “There you are. I need you. Excuse us, Mrs. Davenport.” 

 

Bruce summons up a weak smile for her and allows Tony to pull him away. 

 

“You were looking a little green around the gills there,” Tony murmurs as he steers Bruce towards the bar. 

 

Bruce grimaces. “I need something to get the taste of her perfume out of my mouth.” 

 

“Mrs. Davenport does come on rather strong,” Tony agrees. “On multiple levels.” 

 

“She was coming onto me!” Bruce hisses. 

 

“Pretty sure she doesn’t actually believe we’re gay,” Tony confides. “She probably thinks it’s a publicity stunt.” 

 

Bruce rolls his eyes. “We’re _married_.” 

 

“Pretty sure she doesn’t care,” Tony says. “Club soda with lime?” 

 

“Yeah, thanks,” Bruce says, smiling because it’s a mark of how well Tony knows him, to know that Bruce won’t want to risk anything that might shake his control in this crowd. 

 

They haven’t talked about it really, but for Bruce, being married has settled something in him, some question about his place in this world that has always been unanswered. Now, he knows: his place is with Tony, unquestionably.  

 

Which is why when, someone questions that fact, Bruce finds it really fucking annoying. 

 

“Give it another thirty minutes, and we can take off,” Tony promises. “We’ve seen everyone we needed to see, and we’ve handed over our checks.” 

 

“I hate these things,” Bruce complains good-naturedly. “I know why they’re necessary, and rebuilding Manhattan is certainly a worthy goal, but…” 

 

“You hate these things,” Tony supplies with a smile. “Don’t tell anybody, but I kind of hate them, too. I’d rather be home doing filthy things to you.” 

 

Bruce glances away, hoping no one can see his blush as he thinks about what, exactly, those filthy things might entail. “You really shouldn’t say things like that in public.” 

 

“Why?” Tony asks with a wicked smile. “It’s so much fun to think about.” 

 

Bruce opens his mouth to deliver a retort, and then sees Tony’s expression change from amusement to annoyance. “Heads up, your least favorite rival is approaching with intent.” 

 

He frowns, not entirely sure to whom Tony is referring. “Hammer’s in prison, Killian is dead, Reed is annoying but—” 

 

“Dr. Banner, how nice to see you here.” 

 

“Pym,” Bruce mouths at Tony before pasting a pleasant smile on his face, and turning to face Dr. Hank Pym. “Dr. Pym.” 

 

“Are you ready to come work for a real visionary yet, or are you still committed to the desiccated corpse that is Stark Industries?” Pym asks. 

 

And _that_ would be why Pym is Bruce’s least favorite competitor. He’s pretty sure Pym does this every time he sees Bruce just to needle Tony, and mostly because he hated Tony’s father, and hates SHIELD even more. So, Pym generally ignores Tony’s existence and tries to goad Bruce into a heated response. 

 

Bruce refuses to satisfy him. “Pym Technologies is falling further behind every day, and hasn’t had a new patent in two years. Stark Industries is blazing the trail for clean energy and has filed for half a dozen patents in the same amount of time.” 

 

Pym’s smile is stiff. “And yet a pacifist like you works with a dedicated warmonger.” 

 

“Pym, I _married_ him,” Bruce counters. “So sorry you didn’t get an invitation.” 

 

“Are you still working for SHIELD?” Pym asks. “Why would you want to put yourself in their clutches? Fury would like nothing more than to put you in a cage.” 

 

“That’s why he has me,” Tony says, stepping smoothly between Pym and Bruce. “Whatever you might think of my father, or of me, trust that we’re only interested in saving the world.” 

 

“Your father often said as much,” Pym replies. “I didn’t believe him either.” 

 

Tony shrugs. “Your prerogative.” 

 

He ushers Bruce out, and mutters, “I really hate that guy.” 

 

“The feeling is clearly mutual,” Bruce says. “What the hell did your dad ever do to _him_?” 

 

“Hell if I know,” Tony replies. “I mean, I know they had their differences, but it’s not like my dad ever talked to me about it, and Pym certainly hasn’t been forthcoming.” 

 

Bruce frowns. “I don’t understand why he keeps coming after me. He has to know that I could go green and smash him.” 

 

Tony snorts. “You’ll notice that he always approaches you in a crowded area. Anybody who knows you at all knows you won’t put anyone at risk if you can help it.” 

 

“He’s an asshole,” Bruce snaps. “That fucker wouldn’t hire me before my accident, and he’s just making the offer now to irritate you. It’s like they completely ignore the fact that we’re married.” 

 

Tony smiles ruefully. “Well, I was a playboy for a lot of years.” 

 

“Exactly!” Bruce says. “And you never got married, and now you are. That matters.” 

 

“I knew I kept you around for a reason.” Tony glances over at him. “You keep me honest, and you always see the best in me.” 

 

Bruce shrugs. “Well, we’ve been through the fire together. I know who you are.” 

 

Their relationship had been forged in the fires of Afghanistan, solidified by near death experiences and the specter of loss. Even though they’re on top of the world right now, they both know how quickly that can change.  

 

There are enemies all around, there’s at least one mole in SHIELD, and they’re a team of two. Bruce doesn’t care for it when someone tries to undermine that. 

 

“Come on, let’s go home,” Tony says. “I’ll do a few filthy things to you, and we’ll imagine them seething in jealousy.” 

 

“Sounds like a plan,” Bruce agrees. 

 

They’d hired a new driver for New York. Happy is almost completely recovered at this point, and he’s back to working as head of security for Stark Industries. Of course, Bruce knows that Tony has ensured Happy has plenty of support so that he doesn’t overdo it coming back to the job. 

 

Their driver is a young woman who’s supporting two small children by herself. She’s a former Marine, and Tony offers a very competitive salary with the potential for scholarships at a rather prestigious private school not far from where she lives. 

 

Bruce isn’t entirely opposed to buying loyalty, particularly when the outcome is as good as it is here. A young mother gets a good job with great benefits, her kids get the opportunity to have a fantastic education, and the chance of someone bribing her is slim to none. 

 

“Have a nice time, sirs?” she asks, opening the back door for them. 

 

“The company was a little lacking, other than Bruce’s,” Tony says. “What about you, Ms. Green? What are you reading today?” 

 

“A book about the Wright brothers,” Dominique replies. “They never let anybody tell them they couldn’t fly.” 

 

“An admirable quality,” Bruce replies gently. “Thank you, Ms. Green.” 

 

She smiles brightly. “My pleasure, Dr. Banner. Anything else I can do for you on the drive home?” 

 

“Just get us back to the Tower,” Tony says. “And thank you. I’ll make sure you have those action figures the next time we see you.” 

 

She lights up. “My kids will go wild, sir. Thank you.” 

 

“Anything you need,” Tony says, and it might be extravagant, but Bruce knows he means it, and she seems to understand that, too. 

 

She drives them straight to the Tower, moving smoothly through traffic without showing off, and yet with an admirable skill at navigating the usual crush of cars.  

 

Green pulls into the garage under the Tower, and opens the door for them, bowing slightly. “You gentlemen have a good evening, and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” 

 

Tony smirks at her. “I’ve known Marines. That leaves us plenty of wiggle room.” 

 

“The marriage bed is sacred, Mr. Stark,” she says with a grin. “That’s why no one gives a crap what you get up to there.” 

 

“She’s a treasure,” Bruce says once they’re in the elevator. “You know that, right?” 

 

“Why do you think I’ve done everything I can to keep her?” Tony asks. “She’s great, her kids are adorable, and if she gets tired of driving, I’ll find her another job.” 

 

Bruce hums. “This is the secret to your success, isn’t it? Hire really good people and then make it impossible for them to leave.” 

 

“I offer great benefits, as you well know,” Tony points out with a smirk. “But yes, that’s what I do. People who suck don’t last, and those who last don’t suck.” 

 

“An admirable policy,” Bruce teases, and then lets Tony crowd him up against the wall of the elevator. It’s going to take them straight up with no stops, and Bruce allows it. 

 

Funny how a person could do without sex for so long, and then not be able to get enough when it’s finally available. 

 

“Preferences?” Tony asks between kisses. 

 

“Blow me?” Bruce suggests, and he might feel guilty but he knows just how much Tony enjoys sucking his dick. 

 

Tony grins. “My pleasure, and I mean that honestly.” 

 

They reach the bedroom, and Tony pulls his bow tie off and tosses it away. Tony has his shirt unbuttoned and his shoes and pants off while Bruce is still slinging his jacket over the back of a chair. 

 

“Eager, are we?” Bruce teases. 

 

“Please,” Tony scoffs. “I’ve been thinking about nothing other than peeling you out of that tux all night.” 

 

Bruce smirks as he removes his tie. “They say patience is a virtue.” 

 

“ _They_ have never seen you naked,” Tony counters. “Any time today, Brucie.” 

 

“Call me that again, and I’ll move even slower,” Bruce threatens, but he takes his shoes off and starts working on his shirt. 

 

Tony bats his hands away, wearing only his boxers. “Let me.” 

 

The mood turns on a dime, from playful to serious, as Tony kisses him slowly, his tongue stroking Bruce’s, clever fingers working on the buttons, callused hands pushing the shirt off Bruce’s shoulders to drop on the floor. Bruce’s undershirt is next, and Tony kisses Bruce’s neck, knowing just how that gets to him. 

 

Pants are next, and Tony strips Bruce down and pushes him back on the bed. 

 

Bruce knows what people say about marriage stunting a couple’s sex life, but Bruce thinks the sex just keeps getting better and better. Tony knows most of Bruce’s buttons, and he’s also a fan of experimentation, and keeping things fresh. 

 

Tony pulls off long enough to grab the lube and hold it up in a silent question. “Go for it,” Bruce replies, because he’s in the mood tonight, and feels like he could give up a bit of control. 

 

With Tony, he’s safe, and Tony keeps busy with mouth and fingers alike. 

 

Bruce warns Tony just before he comes, and Tony pulls off, quickly removing his boxers and rolling on a condom. 

 

Tony moves slowly, so slowly, careful not to hurt Bruce. Bruce’s erection flags briefly, but then Tony wraps a hand around Bruce’s dick and starts to jack him off in time with his thrusts. 

 

Sometimes, Bruce appreciates Tony’s vast experience, like right now. 

 

“You’re so fucking good at this,” he manages to gasp out. 

 

“Good at fucking you? You’d better believe it,” Tony says. “I’m close.” 

 

“So am I,” Bruce replies. 

 

And Tony manages to hold out until after Bruce has come all over Tony’s hand and his stomach, and Tony finishes up a few seconds later. 

 

He rolls to the side, breathing a little heavily, and then looks over at Bruce with a grin. “How’re you doing, Big Guy?” 

 

“Good,” Bruce replies. “Great, even.” 

 

“All memories of terrible perfume lady wiped out?” Tony asks. 

 

Bruce laughs. “Yeah, I’m good.” 

 

Tony kisses his shoulder. “You want to get cleaned up or go straight to bed?” 

 

“Shower,” Bruce says decisively. “I’m gross.” 

 

“Hardly,” Tony says. “Thanks for going with me tonight. It’s always more fun with you.” 

 

Bruce runs a fond hand down Tony’s side. “Always.” 

 

 

Tony _likes_ being married, which is something he hadn’t really expected until after he’d said his vows and they’d been married a few months. 

 

Granted, not much changed after they tied the knot, other than the fact that the tension from _not_ getting married, from waiting, goes out of their relationship. 

 

And Bruce relaxes, he smiles a lot, and there’s always a grin on his face when he runs a thumb over his ring. 

 

He’s _happy_ , and so is Tony, and in spite of all the irons they still have in the fire, Tony isn’t too worried about the future. 

 

Of course, he’s not really sure what to do with the current request from SHIELD. 

 

“They want you to what?” Bruce asks, holding his hand out for the tablet Tony has. 

 

They’re reviewing the day’s work in Tony’s lab, going through requests from Pepper, SI’s R&D, and SHIELD, which is customary. They always have more work than they can comfortably handle, but it helps to triage important projects together. 

 

“Fury’s building three new helicarriers, and he wants our input on them,” Tony replies. “Specifically, he wants us to prevent something like the near-crash last year, and he thinks repulsor technology will do it.” 

 

Bruce fumbles his glasses on and reads through the proposal. “Will it?” 

 

“It could,” Tony admits, leaning back against his workbench. “But I’m not sure how I feel about putting that kind of tech in SHIELD’s hands when we haven’t been able to find the mole yet.” 

 

Bruce acknowledges Tony’s point, but there are a lot of SHIELD agents, and most of them are likely innocent, just doing what they can to make the world a little better place. “We could make a failsafe,” he suggests. “A backdoor of a sort. Some way to shut it down if we have to do so.” 

 

“You’re talking about a way to deliberately crash three helicarriers,” Tony says flatly. He doesn’t disagree, but he’d like to know what Bruce is thinking. 

 

“I’m not saying we make it easy,” Bruce says, sounding a little defensive. “But Tony, they stole a compound that would incapacitate me so that a guy could use my blood to improve his super soldier formula. These aren’t nice people, and the helicarrier is also a giant weapon.” 

 

“So, we devise a means to take it out if it gets that far,” Tony says. “For the record, I’m not arguing with you. You know Fury’s going to have his people go over everything we send him for just this reason.” 

 

Bruce smirks. “If a couple of geniuses can’t defeat the people SHIELD trained, we don’t deserve the title.” 

 

“SHIELD does have competent people,” Tony points out with a smile. “They’ve got FitzSimmons.” 

 

Bruce hitches a shoulder. “Leo and Jemma are on Coulson’s roving team, and I trust them. I know how good they are. Maybe they could find it, but Fury won’t ask them. He’s too invested in keeping their existence secret.” 

 

“Okay, so you think we should do it, and we should make sure that we can take the helicarriers out if necessary,” Tony sums up. “I agree.” 

 

Bruce shoots him a look. “You were already planning on doing just that. Then why ask?” 

 

“Because I wanted to get your buy-in,” Tony admits. “If we have to do this, there’s going to be fallout. I wanted to know I wasn’t going completely off the rails.” 

 

Bruce laughs. “Yeah, well, I’ll let you know if you do, but in this case, I think you’re right.” 

 

“Okay, now that’s decided, let’s talk about our model town,” Tony says, because that’s a much happier topic of conversation, and Bruce never fails to get excited. 

 

Today proves no exception, because Bruce hands the tablet over and says, “Jarvis, would you mind pulling up the latest video?” 

 

Their model town is, in same ways, the same kind of conversation piece the first arc reactor had been, back before Afghanistan. In other ways, it’s completely different—a prototype for a new American community that provides jobs and runs on clean energy, populated by a rather strange combination of hippies and blue collar factory workers. 

 

It’s a big time and monetary sink, but it’s also the culmination of all their efforts with the Expo. If it works, the town of Navarro, Arizona, will become a model community that could eventually be replicated worldwide. 

 

The town had been dying before Tony and Bruce selected it for redevelopment. The nearby silver mine played out, the jobs evaporated, and people left in droves. 

 

Now, all that has changed, and the videos of the town’s transformation are going viral. The first had garnered some attention, but the fifth had more than three million views, and the buzz is electric. 

 

“Hey, everybody,” Miriam says, waving at the camera. “Check out the community garden! It’s insane!” 

 

The camera pans over a verdant green patch. The irrigation is Bruce’s design, and will work even in areas where water is scarce, collecting water from the air, and any precipitation that falls. For small-scale farming, it works admirably. 

 

“As you can see, the irrigation system is awesome!” Miriam says. “We’ve got tomatoes, peppers, squash, you name it. The yield this year isn’t going to be huge, but we’ll expand next year, and we should have enough to allow any family who’s interested in helping out to get fresh vegetables. How cool is that?” 

 

Bruce had been the one to find Miriam, a former Peace Corps volunteer who had worked to improve sustainable agriculture in Zimbabwe. She’s a chipper, enthusiastic ambassador for their mission with dreadlocks and a nose ring and a way of getting around even the most skeptical resident. 

 

Between the factory and its promise of jobs with good wages, the low cost of utilities—thanks to a couple of full-size arc reactors—and the opportunity to be part of something bigger, they have a whole town of people who are taking part in a grand experiment willingly. 

 

“And the roads are about two-thirds complete,” Miriam continues as the camera pans around again. “They’re working on the roads going out of town now, but the ones in town are working great. You can see the lines, and of course, they’re also solar panels, so they’re helping power the whole town.” 

 

Miriam turns the camera around to the park across the street from the community garden. It’s brand new equipment, and the surrounding area is made of recycled tires, reducing the chances of injury. There’s a water feature, and kids are running around shrieking with joy while others swing and slide and hang from the monkey bars. 

 

“I’m sure you all remember what the park looked like before we revamped things,” Miriam says. “If you don’t, you can watch the first video, which is linked here.” She points to the corner of the screen with an impish grin. “As you can see, things are going great! Tune in next week, because I have some really exciting developments to share with all of you!” 

 

“I wish I could bottle her energy,” Bruce says wistfully.  

 

“She could probably power an arc reactor by herself,” Tony agrees. “How many views do we have?” 

 

“One million and counting, and it just went up a few hours ago,” Bruce replies. “The views on the other videos keep going up as well.” 

 

Tony nods. “The reports from the factory are good. We have more orders for the solar panels than we can comfortably fill, and I’ve already started looking into a second site. The new tax breaks have a ton of companies interested in offsetting their carbon footprint.” 

 

Bruce smirks. “That was a stroke of genius.” 

 

“Getting Senator Stern to sponsor the bill nearly made me come,” Tony admits. “Especially when he found out who was behind it.” 

 

Bruce laughs. “Jennifer is sneaky as hell.” 

 

“Makes her a good attorney,” Tony says. “God, this is cool. We should make time to take a trip. We owe Miriam a visit, and I’d like to see it all for myself.” 

 

“Me too,” Bruce admits. “It really is cool.” 

 

“Good call on the community garden, by the way,” Tony says. “It gives us a really good springboard for advertising your water reclamation project.” 

 

Bruce shrugs. “It’s not Death Valley, but Navarro is dry at the best of times. If this works, it will prove that we can make crops grow in relatively unforgiving climates without destructive irrigation practices.” 

 

“I think you’ve already proven as much,” Tony replies, clapping Bruce on the shoulder. “It’s a good day’s work for us.” 

 

“And the day has barely started,” Bruce replies. “What else have we got on our plates?” 

 

“Nothing pressing,” Tony replies. “You got a plan?” 

 

Bruce shrugs. “Working on revisions to the paper on the particle accelerator and some theories I have for creating new elements. You?” 

 

“I have a proposal from SHIELD to work on,” Tony replies. “See you later?” 

 

“You’d better,” Bruce says with a quick kiss. 

 

Although he and Bruce often share lab space, and they always have a good time when they do, Tony tends to crank his music up, whereas when Bruce wants to really focus, he likes the quiet. Having their own space keeps them from getting too annoyed with each other. 

 

Tony sends a quick message to Fury, letting him know that they’re interested in the challenge, and then starts to break down the components of what Fury wants. 

 

“Interesting,” Tony murmurs when he sees the other half of Fury’s request. He’d wanted Bruce’s opinion on the repulsor technology for the helicarrier, but Fury wants a tricked out personal vehicle as well with all the bells and whistles. 

 

“Defenses, an escape hatch,” Tony says. “Looks like Fury might be worried about a mole as well. Are we keeping secrets now, Director?” 

 

Tony really wishes that Fury hadn’t found his backdoor into SHIELD; he could have used one right about now, just to see what the hell is going on that he doesn’t know about. 

 

Still, Tony trusts Fury—to a certain extent—and he believes that it’s usually better to have the devil you know than the devil you don’t in charge. Fury is a known quantity, and someone else might be worse. 

 

Tony will give Fury what he’s asked for because if it keeps him safe, it also serves Tony and Bruce’s interests, not to mention Jennifer’s. 

 

“Sir, Ms. Potts is on the phone for you,” Jarvis announces over the music. 

 

“Turn the music down,” Tony replies. “And put her through.” 

 

Pepper’s face appears on the screen. “Nice job with the gala last night,” she begins. “And Miriam’s videos are increasing interest in our model towns tenfold. I have three new offers, and some international interest as well.” 

 

“We’re going to have to step up production,” Tony replies. “We probably need at least three factories.” 

 

Pepper nods. “I agree, but I think it would be a mistake to rush things. If Navarro is as big of a success as we think it will be, demand will only increase, and we can charge more to those who can afford it and use that to fund our philanthropic endeavors.” 

 

“I love the way you think,” Tony replies. “But I know all this already, and you know that I know it, so I have to wonder about the purpose behind your call.” 

 

Pepper smiles. “You got me. I’m going to be in town tomorrow, and I’d like to get dinner with you and Bruce while I’m there. It’s been too long.” 

 

“Agreed,” Tony says with a smile. “You want us to invite Jen if she’s in town?” 

 

“Absolutely,” Pepper replies. “See you tomorrow?” 

 

“I’ll get reservations somewhere,” Tony promises. 

 

She nods. “See you then.” 

 

Tony knows that he and Bruce often get caught up in their own world, but it’s good to maintain outside connections, too. When Killian had Bruce, they’d needed the backing of the rest of the Avengers and Pepper’s help.  

 

Tony turns back to his plans for the helicarrier’s repulsors, and gets back to work. 

 

 

“So, you’re flying back to New York tomorrow?” Phil asks, taking a sip of his wine.  

 

“That’s the plan,” Pepper replies, enjoying the opportunity to relax at home with a friend. “Have you settled on the final members of your team yet?” 

 

Phil shakes his head. “You know I can’t talk about that.” 

 

“Hm,” Pepper says. “So, no. You’ve got Fitz and Simmons.” 

 

Phil gives her a look. “I really shouldn’t be talking to you about this.” 

 

“I’m one of the few people on the planet who knows you’re alive,” Pepper points out. “And I am sworn to secrecy. Plus, I have plenty of secrets of my own, some that you’re privy to, in fact.” 

 

Phil leans back in his chair. “True. I appreciate you accommodating me.” 

 

“Ordering in is no big deal,” Pepper replies. “It’s just good to see you.” 

 

“I can stay tonight, if you’d like,” Phil offers. “I have to be up early tomorrow.” 

 

Pepper smiles. “So do I.” 

 

She sips and waits, and Phil sighs. “You could give some of my agents a run for their money. You know that, right?” 

 

“SHIELD’s loss is Stark Industries’ gain,” Pepper says diplomatically. 

 

“To answer your question, I’m still filling the roster,” Phil admits. “I have my eye on a young agent about to be promoted, and I have a pilot in mind, but I haven’t worked out how to convince her to join me.” 

 

Pepper considers the problem. “How well do you know her?” 

 

“She’s an old friend,” Phil admits. “We were partnered up for years until we had a mission go bad, and she got out of the field.” 

 

“Is she the best person for the job?” Pepper asks. 

 

“Indubitably.” 

 

Pepper nods. “Then if you think it’s the right call, don’t give her a choice. I often find that if I really want to get someone to do something, and they won’t do it on their own, it helps to box them in and hope they come around. If she’s a good friend, she’ll _want_ to watch your back.” 

 

Phil laughs. “You know, I doubt anyone would guess that you have a ruthless streak.” 

 

“Oh, a few competitors know all too well what I’m willing to do,” Pepper replies. “But you can be humane and principled, and still run a business and get what you want. Tony taught me that.” 

 

“How are they?” Phil asks. “I know the thing with the Mandarin shook everyone up.” 

 

Pepper thinks about the question. “I think getting married settled them, and their new projects are challenging and offer a way to improve the world. What about you? Any lingering side effects from being mostly dead?” 

 

“Not that I can tell,” Phil says. “Thankfully, I was _only_ mostly dead.” 

 

Pepper sets aside her glass. “You know, given our limited amount of time, I’m wondering why we’re still sitting here.” 

 

“That is a very good question,” Phil replies.  

 

Pepper enjoys Phil’s company, and he’s great in bed. He has no hesitation going down on her, and she rides him after she comes until they’re both more than satisfied. 

 

The best thing about her relationship with Phil is that they’re both busy, career-driven people who don’t have time to date. Pepper finds that a lot of men are intimidated by her intelligence and power, but Phil has never been one of them. Phil has his own dating challenges from his job and the need for secrecy. 

 

Pepper wouldn’t quite call it no-strings-attached sex, but it’s the next best thing. It’s discreet, companionable, and fun. If she worries about him while he’s out on a mission, well, she worries about Tony and Bruce plenty, too. 

 

“It’s probably going to be a while before I see you again,” Phil admits, pressing an apologetic kiss to her shoulder. “I’ll be finalizing my team roster, and getting things underway. How long are you going to be in New York?” 

 

“I haven’t decided yet,” Pepper admits. “The board is based out of New York, and there are some decisions yet to make about where our next moves are going to be in this market. If you’re in the city, though, you should visit.” 

 

“I’d love to,” Phil replies. “We’ll see how things work out.” He pauses. “You know, I’ve seen those videos online. Fitz and Simmons showed me. If this town works, it could change the world.” 

 

Pepper smiles. “Tony and Bruce talk about a world free from war, running on clean energy, with a famine and poverty an ugly memory. I don’t know that we’ll ever get there, but the fact that they’re trying, and maybe achieving it in a limited sense, gives me hope.” 

 

“We need visionaries,” Phil says quietly. “Fitz and Simmons learned that lesson under Dr. Banner, and I can see how that’s strengthened them.” 

 

Pepper kisses him. “Then we’ll make sure they have the chance to make the world a better place.” 

 

They both have to leave early, but it’s nice to share the bed with someone, and to wake up with Phil. She makes a pot of coffee and sends him off with a travel mug, and then leaves to meet the corporate jet.  

 

Pepper spends the trip reading and catching up on work. The reports from Navarro are good. The arc reactor has no trouble powering the factory and part of the town, with Bruce’s solar panels doing the rest. Assuming things continue to go well, they’ll have a ton of takers for the arc reactor and solar panels. 

 

The Stark phone and tablet continue to do well, steadily improving their market shares. Both are still high-end items, but they’re taking steps to decrease the costs of production, which will improve sales. 

 

The problem is where Stark Industries goes from here. They need to maintain their competitive edge, and that means they need to expand to new and emerging markets. 

 

Solar panels and wind farms are a good start and bring government grants, but they need something more than clean energy and communications. They need—software. 

 

Tony has proven to be a genius at creating a smart house, and that’s all the rage right now. If she can convince Tony to create a scaled down version, or something simpler, something that runs on Stark phones and tablets, they might be able to dominate the market. Other companies have dabbled, but none have really gone after it seriously. 

 

Now, Pepper just has to convince Tony to do it, which might be difficult—unless she can get Bruce on board. 

 

The plane lands at La Guardia, and Pepper takes a car to the Tower, using Tony’s new driver. She has to admit that she approves of Dominique Green, who is respectful without being obsequious, drives efficiently but safely, and speaks of Tony and Bruce with the faint tinge of hero worship.  

 

“Anything you need while you’re in town, Ms. Potts,” Dominique says. “You let me know. I’ve got a cousin who runs a private car company, too, so if I’m not available, you’ll have someone to get you around.” 

 

“Thank you, Ms. Green,” Pepper replies as they pull up in the parking garage under the Tower. “I’ll keep that in mind.” 

 

“Welcome back, Ms. Potts,” Jarvis says when she enters the elevator. “Shall I let Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner know you’re here?” 

 

“Where are they, Jarvis?” Pepper counters. 

 

“Both of them are in their respective labs,” Jarvis replies.  

 

“Let Dr. Banner know I’m here and would like to see him,” Pepper says. “Tony can wait.” 

 

“As you like,” Jarvis says. 

 

Bruce is waiting for her when she steps into his lab. “Pepper.” 

 

She hugs him in greeting. “How are you?” 

 

“Just fine,” he replies with a warm smile. “It’s good to see you again.” 

 

“You too,” Pepper says. 

 

Bruce raises an eyebrow. “Is there a specific reason you wanted to see me before you talked to Tony? I know you told him that you wanted to catch up, and it’s great to see you, but I know that look on your face. You’re about to ask me to talk Tony into doing something he might not otherwise agree to do.” 

 

Pepper grimaces. “Guilty as charged.” 

 

“So?” Bruce prompts. “I know you. You wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.” 

 

Pepper perches on one of the lab stools and crosses her legs. “As the VP of special projects, you know how important it is for Stark Industries to remain on the cutting edge.” 

 

“So does Tony, since he’s CTO,” Bruce counters. 

 

“And I also know that Tony has been cautious about developing new technologies, particularly software,” Pepper points out.  

 

Bruce nods. “True. Software can be corrupted and used inappropriately. His missile targeting tech is proprietary, but we know others have tried to utilize it for other means.” 

 

“Still, we need to stay ahead of the curve to continue funding the other projects, like Navarro,” Pepper counters. 

 

Bruce looks incredibly unimpressed. “Spit it out, Pepper. I can’t help if you won’t tell me what you’re after.” 

 

“Have you heard of the internet of things?” Pepper asks. 

 

Bruce chuckles. “Of course. It’s a gimmick.” 

 

“Unless it’s not,” Pepper responds. “Jarvis is certainly not a gimmick.” 

 

Bruce sobers and takes a deep breath. “You think we should throw our hat into the smart house ring.” 

 

“I’m not saying we should create anything like Jarvis for the public,” Pepper quickly assures him. “But there are a lot of things we could do, software we could market, and if it’s exclusive to Stark phones and tablets, it will drive sales there, too.” 

 

Bruce drums his fingers on the lab bench. “And I assume you came to me because you think I could talk Tony around, or make him think it’s his own idea.” 

 

Pepper smiles. “Well, you _are_ married to him.” 

 

“Okay,” Bruce says slowly. “Say I agree. What’s the greater purpose?” 

 

“Stark Industries is edging into the phone and tablet market, and we’re doing quite well with clean energy, but to stay on top, we need other avenues,” Pepper admits. 

 

“Transportation,” Bruce says. “We’re working on technology that will improve cars and airplanes, including reducing fuel usage overall.” 

 

“How far out are we from salable prototypes?” Pepper asks. 

 

Bruce winces. “Six months to a year, but probably eighteen months before we have something that can be sold widely.” 

 

“And smart house technology?” Pepper asks. 

 

“Realistically? Maybe three to four months,” Bruce admits. “Tony and I could probably work something up in a few days if we focused our attention on it. We’d need to field test it, but we could probably find amenable subjects in Navarro.” 

 

“And in a year we could be dominant in the field and afford to bankroll five more towns, and not just here in the United States,” Pepper argues. “We could put water reclamation units and arc reactors in areas of need.” 

 

Bruce nods. “Okay, I’m on board. I’ll talk to Tony, and see if I can convince him.” 

 

Pepper buses him on the cheek. “That’s all I ask. I have a meeting to get to, but we’re on for dinner tonight, right?” 

 

“Tony made reservations, and Jennifer promised she’d be there,” Bruce says. “Should be fun.” 

 

“It usually is,” Pepper replies. 

 

And really, if she doesn’t have much of a life outside of work, at least she has good friends she can trust. 

 

 

Jennifer strides into the lobby of Stark Tower, calling out a cheery greeting to the woman at the front desk. She knows most of the people who work at reception and security, and they wave her right to the elevator. 

 

She’s humming as she gets on the elevator, fresh off a jury trial win that puts her one step closer to making partner. Some of her colleagues had wanted to go out for drinks, but Jennifer had begged off, knowing that everybody will assume that she’s meeting her cousin. 

 

They might think she’s weird for spending so much time with family, but Jennifer really doesn’t care. So far, the only people who know about her secret identity are the partners, and they’re not inclined to tell anyone else. 

 

“Welcome back, Ms. Walters,” Jarvis says. “You seem rather cheerful today.” 

 

“Just won a jury trial, Jarvis,” Jennifer replies. “And I’m going to spend the evening with my favorite people. It’s a win all the way around.” 

 

“Congratulations,” Jarvis replies. 

 

“Is Bruce in his lab?” 

 

“He is. I believe he’s shutting down for the day.” 

 

Jennifer grins. “Great.” 

 

Bruce is, indeed, shutting everything down for the day when she enters. “Hey there,” he says, pulling her in for a hug. “You look great.” 

 

She glances down at the dress she’d changed into after court, a dark blue, off-the-shoulder number that shows off her figure. “I feel great.” 

 

Bruce smiles indulgently. “You won your trial.” 

 

“I won my trial!” Jennifer bursts out. “It was great.” 

 

“Congratulations,” Bruce replies. “That’s awesome. Which case was this one? Was it the wrongful imprisonment?” 

 

“It was, with a really large settlement from the city,” Jennifer replies. “Hopefully, that will help him get back on his feet.” 

 

“He has you in his corner,” Bruce replies. “What’s next?” 

 

“I have a case in federal court that’s going to take me to D.C. for a while,” Jennifer replies. “Your timing was great, actually. I’ll probably be down there for at least a few weeks, and I’m not sure if I’ll have a chance to get back up here.” 

 

“I’m glad we caught you before then,” Bruce replies, steering her out of the lab and towards the main living area. “Are you going to see Steve while you’re there?” 

 

Jennifer gives him a look. “Just because I said that _one time_ that I found him attractive doesn’t mean I have any interest in dating him.” 

 

Bruce smirks. “That’s the only guy you’ve ever said you were attracted to, so what else am I supposed to think?” 

 

“Thor is also very hot,” Jennifer says pertly. “As is Tony, and I don’t want to date either of them.” 

 

“I think they’re both taken,” Bruce teases. 

 

Jennifer frowns at him. “You’re horrible.” 

 

“So I’ve been told,” Bruce says with a grin. 

 

Jennifer really can’t stay mad at Bruce when he’s so happy. “You’re going to turn into one of those people who gets married and wants everybody else to be paired off, too. Aren’t you?” 

 

Bruce shrugs. “Maybe. I promise I won’t give you a hard time about Steve, though. Come on. I need to get changed.” 

 

“You look fine,” Jennifer says, taking in his khakis and plaid shirt. 

 

“I’m going to look outclassed if I don’t change,” Bruce counters. “And as Tony keeps reminding me, I have a certain appearance to maintain when out in public.” 

 

Jennifer laughs, then realizes he’s being serious. “Tony finally got you to care about your appearance?” 

 

“No, Tony got me to care about _his_ appearance, and I got really irritated when they suggested that Tony wasn’t paying me enough to afford decent clothes,” Bruce replies. 

 

“Okay, that would be annoying,” Jennifer agrees. “Although I can’t say that I didn’t select this dress with the express purpose of making me look fantastic if people start snapping pictures.” 

 

“Mission accomplished,” Bruce replies. “You want a drink while you wait?” 

 

She shrugs. “I wouldn’t say no to one.” 

 

“Wine okay?” Bruce asks. When she nods, he asks, “Red or white?” 

 

“Red,” Jennifer replies.  

 

As she expects, the wine is really good, and Bruce leaves her to relax. “Jarvis, would you pull up Miriam’s most recent video? I haven’t had a chance to watch it yet,” Jennifer asks. 

 

She’s in the middle of it when Pepper arrives. She pours a drink and joins Jennifer on the couch. “How have you been?” 

 

“Great,” Jennifer says brightly. “You?” 

 

“Really great,” Pepper replies. 

 

Jennifer glances at her. “Have you seen Phil recently?” 

 

“How did you guess?” Pepper asks, amused. 

 

“You look very relaxed,” Jennifer replies diplomatically. 

 

“I didn’t think it was that obvious,” Pepper replies. 

 

Jennifer shrugs. “It isn’t, but I know you.” 

 

“I really need to get a better poker face,” Pepper mutters. “But yes, Phil is doing well.” 

 

Jennifer smiles. “Good. I always felt bad about how things turned out, like I could have done more for him.” 

 

“Phil doesn’t feel that way, and neither do I,” Pepper replies. “It worked out for the best.” 

 

Tony and Bruce emerge from their bedroom, both looking incredibly dapper, and Jennifer is glad that she thought to dress up. Tony claps his hands together. “All right, I hear we have some celebrating to do, so let’s get this party started!” 

 

Jennifer laughs. “Yes, let’s.” 

 

 

Bruce actually overestimated the time it would take to whip up smart house technology, mostly because Tony jumped on the idea right away, and it doesn’t take much to take the bare bones of Jarvis’ code and simplify it for consumer use. 

 

After they’ve wrestled the problem of software for smart houses into submission in just a few days, agreeing to start slow with combined thermostats, lawn-watering, and security, they move on to bigger problems. 

 

Bruce convinced Tony mostly because he believes that Pepper is right, that this is the next step, that no one is doing it well, and it could fund other projects. 

 

Like clean energy and putting up controls on SHIELD. 

 

“So, we’re doing this, right?” Tony asks a week later, going over their failsafe for the helicarriers, which is currently their main priority. 

 

“Check it out,” Bruce replies. “The virus, when activated, will cause catastrophic failure. The only problem is that it necessarily has to be incomplete. SHIELD’s going to go over our code with a fine-tooth comb, which means we’ll have to find a way to complete it before things go south.” 

 

Tony scratches his beard. “That means letting them get off the ground, most likely.” 

 

“If things go badly, yeah, I think so,” Bruce admits. “The only other way would be to wait until they’re nearly complete and then go in, but I don’t think we want to go there.” 

 

“Break glass in case of emergency situation, then,” Tony says. “Okay, bottom line is that we need to bug SHIELD.” 

 

Bruce gives him a look. “They’re not going to let us waltz in and plant a bug just like that, Tony.” 

 

“No, they aren’t going to let _us_ waltz in,” Tony replies. “But didn’t you say that Jennifer was getting close to Steve and Natasha?” 

 

Bruce shakes his head. “No. Absolutely not. We’re not involving Jen.” 

 

“She stands the best chance, and we trust her,” Tony replies. “No one is going to suspect her of planting a bug.” 

 

“Because she shouldn’t be planting a bug!” Bruce exclaims. “What if she’s caught?” 

 

“Well, she is invulnerable, so…” 

 

“Tony!” 

 

Tony gets serious. “Bruce, this is the right call, and you know it. I understand why you don’t want to involve her, but she can be trusted, and SHIELD can’t right now.” 

 

Bruce runs a hand through his hair. “No.” 

 

“Why don’t you ask her, and let her make that decision?” Tony asks. “I know you hate this, Bruce, but she’s part of our world.” 

 

“She shouldn’t have to be!” Bruce shouts. “She shouldn’t—she should get to be normal. Just a normal civil rights lawyer, dealing with normal problems.” 

 

Tony gives him a look. “Jarvis, pull up that thing we weren’t going to show Bruce.” 

 

“What—” Bruce stops as the news story shows up. “Are you fucking kidding me?” 

 

“I’m guessing she didn’t tell you,” Tony says dryly. 

 

“Giantess Stops Armed Robbery,” Bruce reads the headline. “In D.C. Jen is in D.C.” 

 

“To be fair, these news reports have been popping up in New York, too, at least while Jen was in town,” Tony replies. “She’s been playing superhero in her spare time.” 

 

“How long have you known about this?” Bruce demands. 

 

Tony shrugs. “A while. It didn’t make the papers here, but it was on the police scanner, and Jarvis has a program that keeps track of that sort of thing.” 

 

“And you didn’t tell me,” Bruce snaps. 

 

“More importantly, _she_ didn’t tell you,” Tony points out. “It was her secret, her tale to tell, not mine.” 

 

Bruce lets out a long breath. “Okay, fair. I’m sorry.” 

 

“She learned her lesson well,” Tony says. “She’s using her gifts.” 

 

“And she is in so much trouble,” Bruce mutters. “Fine. I’ll ask her, but if she says no, I’m not going to force it, and we’ll have to find another way.” 

 

Tony nods. “Fair.” 

 

“Okay, so do you have the bug and instructions for how to plant it?” Bruce asks. 

 

“Are you angry?” Tony asks, sounding a bit anxious. “I know I didn’t tell you, but I really did think it wasn’t my place.” 

 

Bruce shakes his head. “I’m not mad at you. I’m just, I don’t know, irritated.” 

 

“At me?” 

 

“A little bit at you,” Bruce admits. “But you’re right, this was on Jen. She’s been doing this for months without once letting on to it, and it’s something I’m going to talk to her about when I ask her to plant the bug.” 

 

Tony winces. “Go easy on her, huh? She’s new to this superhero thing, and I know you don’t get this because of the Other Guy, but for some of us, it’s a drive that we can’t easily ignore.” 

 

“I’m not going to chastise her, Tony. She’s my cousin, and I love her, but she’s risking a lot, and I’d like to understand why, and why she didn’t tell me,” Bruce says. 

 

“And you want to chastise her,” Tony adds. 

 

Bruce pinches the bridge of his nose. “I do, but I won’t, because she’s a grown woman, and I love her.” 

 

“Just keep that in mind,” Tony advises. “And remember that she isn’t you. You guys share a lot of similarities, but sometimes that just makes it harder to understand where the other person is coming from.” 

 

Bruce sighs. “Just show me the bug and how to plant it.” 

 

Tony nods, apparently knowing when to leave well enough alone. “Okay, here it is.” He opens a box. “This needs to get planted somewhere near a main computer. It doesn’t have to be on the computer, just near it, preferably inside an inner sanctum.” 

 

“They’re not going to let Jen inside a sanctum,” Bruce objects. 

 

“No, but they’ll let Steve in, and if Steve brings her with him, they’ll probably give her the superhero benefit of the doubt,” Tony replies. 

 

Bruce stares at him. “So, you want to let Steve in on this?” 

 

“No, I’m suggesting that your cousin use her feminine wiles on him,” Tony replies. “We both know she has them, and whatever her feelings about Steve, she can probably get him to go along with her plan.” 

 

“I’m not comfortable with this,” Bruce argues. 

 

“You have a better idea?” Tony snaps. 

 

Bruce takes a deep breath. “I say we let Jen make the call. She’s the one who’s taking the risk and is potentially deceiving Steve. She can decide whether to trust him enough to help her plant the bug.” 

 

“I’m fine with that,” Tony replies.  

 

Bruce nods. “Then I’ll talk to her about it.” 

 

“You want to take the jet down?” Tony asks. 

 

Bruce shakes his head. “The train is fine, Tony.” He pauses, knowing that this marks the first real disagreement they’ve had since getting married. “It’s fine, and I’m not upset with you. It’s just—I want to protect Jennifer, but I also know that I have to trust her to make the right call.” 

 

“Hey, come here,” Tony replies, pulling him in for a long hug. “It’s going to be fine.” 

 

Bruce allows himself this moment of weakness. “We’ve had a good few months, you know.” 

 

“And you’re thinking the good times are over,” Tony murmurs. “Come on, you know better than that. We’ve faced shitty situations before, and we’ve come out on top.” 

 

“I know,” Bruce says, taking a deep breath. “I should get going. I’ll see you in a few days.” 

 

“Keep me posted,” Tony orders. 

 

Bruce and Tony had agreed that subterfuge isn’t necessary for Bruce’s trip to D.C. Everyone knows how close he and Jennifer are, and it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that Bruce would take a trip just to see her, particularly when she’s been gone from New York for a few weeks. Although Bruce also plans to take some meetings for Pepper while he’s there. 

 

The trickier part of the operation is getting Jennifer inside the Triskelion without anyone realizing her purpose, or finding the bug. Neither he nor Tony has been invited to visit, and Tony doesn’t expect it. Fury’s too canny for that, especially after Tony’s antics on the helicarrier. 

 

Bruce really has to remember that Jennifer has a right to make her own decisions about how she’s going to use her powers, and those choices aren’t Bruce’s.  

 

He might hate it, he might wish she’d never gotten involved to this level, but that doesn’t change the basic truth of the matter. 

 

Of course, he’s still irritated that she hadn’t told him, and he probably won’t be able to keep that under wraps. Jennifer knows him too well. 

 

Bruce waits until he’s actually in the city before he calls Jennifer, and gets her voicemail. “Hey, it’s me. I’m in D.C. for some meetings, and I’d like to see you. It was kind of a last minute thing, so let me know.” 

 

He checks into his room at the same hotel Tony usually stays in while he’s there, although he doesn’t bother with the Penthouse, since there’s no need. 

 

Bruce uses the time waiting for Jennifer to call him back to get some work done. His water reclamation units could be more efficient, and he’s a little concerned about the durability of the solar panels. 

 

He’s concentrating hard enough that he doesn’t hear his phone ring right away, and he has to scramble to grab it. “Yeah,” he says, unable to even glance at the caller ID. 

 

“Am I interrupting something?” Jennifer asks, sounding amused. 

 

“I was just deep into solar panels,” Bruce admits. 

 

He can almost hear her frown. “Tony isn’t with you?” 

 

“No, it’s just me,” Bruce replies. “Tony had something that kept him in New York, and Pepper couldn’t get to some meetings here, and you know how Tony is about taking meetings when he doesn’t actually care.” 

 

Jennifer laughs. “He’s absolutely terrible. How long are you in town?” 

 

“A few days, depending on how things go,” Bruce replies. “Are you going to have any free time?” 

 

Jennifer hesitates. “For you, I can make time.” 

 

Bruce really wants to needle her about her after-hours activities, but he bites his tongue. “Great. Tomorrow night? I can meet you after court.” 

 

“Sure, that would be great,” Jennifer replies, and he doesn’t think he’s imagining the relief in her voice. “I actually had plans for tonight, so that works.” 

 

“See you then,” Bruce replies, and makes a note to check the news tomorrow. 

 

 

Jennifer is a little thrown by Bruce’s phone call, wondering if he’d seen the news reports. She hadn’t told Bruce about using her downtime to catch bad guys, and now she’s regretting it. In New York, it hadn’t been an issue, because anything she did happened late at night, away from reporters, and the police hadn’t been forthcoming. 

 

Things are a little different in D.C., but after a long day holding back in court, Jennifer wants nothing more than to cut loose. She can’t ensure a victory in court; she can only do her best. 

 

But when she’s roaming the streets and stopping armed robberies and apprehending would-be thieves and rapists, Jennifer is in charge.  

 

She feels _good_ —sexy, fearless, powerful, unstoppable. It’s addictive. 

 

And she’s pretty sure that Bruce would _not_ approve. 

 

Not that Bruce’s approval is necessary, but Jennifer had been without family for a long time, and she doesn’t want to risk a breach between them. Really, if she’d been thinking, she would have told Tony, who almost certainly would have understood, and then had Tony break the news to Bruce. 

 

Instead, here she is wondering if Bruce is actually in town to read her the riot act for risking her secret identity. 

 

Thankfully, she really does have plans tonight, and it has nothing to do with going green. 

 

“How’s the case going?” Natasha asks as she sits down across from Jennifer at a swanky tapas bar. 

 

Jennifer holds a hand out and makes a so-so gesture. “Jury selection didn’t go as well as we’d hoped, and I’m pretty sure our experts are completely losing them. It hasn’t been fun.” 

 

Natasha grimaces. “Sorry. I’ve had my fair share of missions that seem to go sideways from the beginning.” 

 

“That’s a good description,” Jennifer admits. “And I hear a ‘but’ somewhere in there.” 

 

Natasha cocks an eyebrow. “You made the news, Jen. Did you think Fury wouldn’t take notice?” 

 

Jennifer’s stomach sinks. “How much trouble am I in?” 

 

She relies on Natasha and Steve for this kind of information. She’d thought it prudent to look Steve and Natasha up while in D.C. Bruce and Tony might be a team of two, but the others had helped rescue Bruce, and Jennifer is hardwired to build connections and consensus wherever she can. If she can help bridge the gap between her cousin and the rest of the Avengers, while pulling Tony along for the ride, she’s going to do just that. 

 

Of course, she hasn’t been completely forthcoming about her burgeoning relationships with the rest of the Avengers with Bruce either. He knows she finds Steve attractive, but that’s idle interest without any kind of intent. 

 

Her intent, such as it is, is in building strong friendships, because she knows the power of networking. 

 

Whether you like doing it or not. 

 

Jennifer has met one both of them for dinner or drinks a few times while in D.C., and she’d cultivated the relationships any time she could before that. 

 

“Well, he’s not unhappy,” Natasha replies with a smile. “You’re making his stance on enhanced people make a lot of sense. Leave them alone, and they may just show that special powers can be helpful.” 

 

She lets out a breath. “So, not in trouble.” 

 

“Not right now, but Jen, be careful,” Natasha warns her. “The administration at SHIELD could change. It’s doubtful, and Fury’s going to hang on as long as he can, but that’s not always going to be the case.” 

 

Jennifer nods, not having really considered that fact. She probably should have, knowing that the World Security Council had ordered a cage for the Hulk, and if leadership changes, that cage could have her name on it, too. 

 

“I’ll be careful,” Jennifer replies. 

 

“Does Bruce know about your extracurricular activities?” Natasha asks. 

 

Jennifer grimaces and takes a sip of her wine. “Yeah, no. And he’s in town and wants to see me tomorrow.” 

 

“Are you worried about how he’s going to respond?” 

 

“More worried that he’s going to be pissed that I didn’t tell him,” Jennifer admits. “I think he’ll probably at least understand that I have to make my own decisions about what to do with my abilities, but the fact that I didn’t tell him is probably going to hurt.” 

 

Natasha nods. “He won’t appreciate the fact that you kept this from him, but apologizing immediately will smooth things over.” 

 

“So, I should just come clean,” Jennifer says. “Even if he didn’t see the news.” 

 

Natasha lifts an eyebrow. “Do you really want this hanging over your head, where you’re waiting for him to find out even if he doesn’t already know?” 

 

“No,” Jennifer groans. “I don’t. Point taken.” 

 

Natasha nods. “You also know that Bruce and Tony may ask you to do something for them that SHIELD may not look upon favorably.” 

 

Jennifer keeps her poker face with some difficulty. She owes Tony and Bruce a lot, far more than she owes SHIELD. “And if they do?” 

 

“Cover your tracks,” Natasha replies. “What you owe Bruce cannot be measured, and if you think it’s the right thing to do, then do it.” 

 

Jennifer raises her eyebrows. “I wouldn’t have expected that advice coming from you.” 

 

Natasha smiles. “Sometimes, those in power think they know best, and you go along with them until you can’t. In the end, you have to make a decision you can live with.” 

 

“Thanks,” Jennifer replies. “I think you might be right about them asking me to do something.” 

 

Natasha hesitates. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting additional information. There are secrets, even within SHIELD, and some secrets are dangerous.” 

 

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Jennifer promises. 

 

“Now, let’s talk about something other than business,” Natasha says. “Namely, Steve has yet to have a girlfriend, and if you’re not interested in the role, we should probably join forces to get him laid.” 

 

Jennifer laughs. “You think that’s going to help?” 

 

“It certainly couldn’t hurt,” Natasha replies. “I don’t think he’d be nearly as uptight if he did.” 

 

Jennifer smirks. “Well, I’m not saying I wouldn’t take one for the team, but I have a feeling that Steve is the sort to get attached, and I’m not in the market for something serious.” 

 

Natasha smirks. “You have someone else in mind?” 

 

“No, but Steve is just so…” Jennifer trails off, realizing that Natasha might understand where Bruce won’t. “I like to have time to find out if I’m interested in something more serious, but I get the feeling that Steve needs to know ahead of time.” 

 

“Probably true,” Natasha agrees. 

 

“On the other hand, if you run into a really cute, interesting guy who doesn’t mind keeping things casual for a while, I’d be happy for the assist,” Jennifer says. “Preferably someone who knows I’m a superhero and doesn’t care.” 

 

“I’ll keep an eye out,” Natasha promises. “And if you need me, just ask. I know how to juggle loyalties and duty. If you ask for my opinion off the record, I’ll honor that.” 

 

“Thanks,” Jennifer replies. “That means a lot.” 

 

Natasha leans in closer. “Appreciate what you have, and don’t lose it, Jennifer. Find a balance.” 

 

“I will, thanks,” Jennifer replies. “I appreciate the words of advice.” 

 

“Of course,” Natasha says. 

 

They have a good evening, and Jennifer goes back to her hotel room and takes her time preparing for the next day. She has to put everything other than the court case out of her mind. It’s a civil rights case involving a group of women from the U.S. Forest Service who had faced sexual discrimination. 

 

Jennifer owes it to her clients to give them her entire focus, and she does just that, pushing aside any worries she might have, and focusing on the bigger picture. She’ll deal with Bruce later.  

 

The next day of trial seems to go a little better. Their psychologist’s testimony as to the effects of sexual harassment in the workplace, and why people wouldn’t necessarily report immediately, turns out to be riveting. Dr. Summer Evers is dynamic and compelling, and Jennifer actually sees several jury members leaning forward, in a clear sign of interest. 

 

It’s a bit of good news, and Jennifer leaves the courtroom feeling energized. She’d love to take that energy and go catch some bad guys, but she’d told Bruce she would meet him at a restaurant near his hotel. 

 

For the first time, Jennifer’s grateful that they’ll be meeting in public. If Bruce already knows, or if she has to tell him there, he’s unlikely to get too mad while surrounded by others. 

 

The restaurant is a swanky little vegetarian place, and would definitely not be on Tony’s list of places to visit, mostly because he usually tends to go for the carnivorous option when he’s not drinking those noxious shakes. 

 

Bruce is there, waiting for her, a carafe of red wine on the table, as well as a couple of glasses of water with cucumber and lemon slices. 

 

“Hey,” Bruce says, standing to give her a hug. “How’s the trial going?” 

 

“Better today,” Jennifer admits, sitting down across from him. “How are you? How are your meetings going?” 

 

Bruce shrugs. “They’re going. I had one today, and they were trying to strike a rather advantageous deal—for them. I mostly played dumb and promised to run it by the lawyers.” 

 

Jennifer raises an eyebrow. “How can anybody think you’re dumb?” 

 

Bruce frowns at her. “Is that our standard agreement? Are you sure? I don’t know, that sounds like a question for our legal department. I don’t know anything about that. I’ll have to refer you to legal. Sorry.” 

 

He offers an apologetic smile, and Jennifer bursts out laughing. “Oh, my god. You could win an Oscar with a performance like that!” 

 

“That’s kind of the point,” Bruce replies. “Tony would tell them to go fuck themselves, but I can look like an idiot, and they’ll accept that I’m an absent minded scientist who has no idea about legal matters.” 

 

“Pepper chose well,” Jennifer replies. “But that’s not why you’re here.” 

 

Bruce is quiet. “The reason I’m here is best discussed somewhere else. Let’s just have a nice dinner.” 

 

Jennifer swallows. “Bruce—” 

 

He meets her eyes. “I know, I’m not mad, and that’s not actually why I came. Although it’s something we’ll have to discuss later.” 

 

Jennifer lets out a breath and says, “Okay, then let’s have a good dinner.” 

 

She orders the eggplant parmesan and Bruce opts for the ratatouille, and it would probably be a much more enjoyable meal if they weren’t both ignoring the elephant in the room. 

 

Bruce must be used to such conversational pachyderms, because he doesn’t seem to notice, or he doesn’t let on that he does. 

 

Jennifer can hardly wait for dinner to be over so they can get through their conversation, and hopefully not kill each other or cause an irreparable breach between Hulks. 

 

“My room,” Bruce says after he pays. “I’ve made sure it’s clean.” 

 

Jennifer follows him, feeling just a bit like she’s going to her death, although that’s probably far too dramatic. 

 

Bruce had always been a bit of an authority figure, though. Her dad was distant and often absent, and while her mom tried to make up a lot of the difference, Bruce had played a large role in her life. 

 

He’d been an older brother, a role model, someone she’d trusted with her childish secrets and fantasies, her loves and her petty hatreds. Bruce had come to them traumatized, but he’d been enough older than her that she’d never realized how much until much later. 

 

Bruce is the only family Jennifer has left, and she doesn’t want to lose him, or cause him to be disappointed in her for any reason at all. 

 

His room is nice—maybe not quite as nice as it would be if Tony were here, but still nice. 

 

Bruce holds up a hand and takes out what looks like a Stark phone, but probably is something that isn’t on the market yet—or probably ever. “Okay, we’re clean,” Bruce says. “Let’s get the elephant out of the way first, shall we?” 

 

“Bruce, I didn’t want you to find out like this,” Jennifer says, going straight to the heart of the matter. “I was going to tell you. I thought about telling you a hundred times, but it never seemed like the right moment.” 

 

Bruce shakes his head. “Stop. Don’t. I know why you didn’t tell me, and I don’t blame you for _that_. But Jen, this isn’t just about you transforming and stopping crime.” 

 

“You’re jealous,” she guesses. “That I can transform and be okay, and you can’t.” 

 

“A little,” Bruce snaps. “Okay? Yeah, I’m a little jealous. I’m jealous of you the same way I’m jealous of Tony or Steve, and their ability to stop horrible things from happening without _being_ a horrible thing.” 

 

“You’re not horrible!” Jennifer says heatedly. “Okay, so you’re a little dangerous, and you can cause a lot of property damage, but you’re not a _monster_.” 

 

Bruce shakes his head. “Don’t be an idiot, Jen. The Chitauri might have done the bulk of the damage but the Other Guy did his fair share as well. It might have been for the greater good, but that doesn’t negate the reality. Today, right now, everybody seems to agree that I’m okay right where I am. Tomorrow, that could change.” 

 

Jennifer remembers what Natasha had said and feels a chill. “You’re referring to General Ross.” 

 

“I’m telling you that today’s leadership is tomorrow’s retirees,” Bruce replies. “And what happens if something goes wrong and an innocent person is hurt?” 

 

Jennifer bristles at that. “Bruce, I’m catching people in the middle of the crime, and I’m careful about collateral damage.” 

 

Some undefined emotion crosses Bruce’s face, and then he squares his shoulders, although his eyes focus on a spot on the wall just behind Jennifer. “Let’s say you come across a rape in progress. What do you do?” 

 

Jennifer stares at him, her blood heating just at the thought. “I stop it! The same as I’d stop any other crime.” 

 

“And say the perpetrator is well connected. He’s a sports star, or maybe he has wealthy parents or friends in high places,” Bruce continues. “What then? What if they convince the girl to agree it was just rough sex? They pay her off, or she’s too scared or was too drunk to back up your story. What then?” 

 

Jennifer feels sick. “Nothing. If I come across a guy raping a girl, I’m going to stop it.” 

 

And Bruce looks almost heartbroken when he meets her eyes and says, “And if you were a regular woman with a can of mace or a concealed carry permit, folks would give you the benefit of the doubt. Hell, a lot of them would hail you as a hero and champion of women. The guy and his friends might complain, but you’d get off easily enough. People would assume that you were reasonable because you’re a well-off white woman, who’s also a high powered attorney.” 

 

“What are you saying?” Jennifer asks, even though she’s pretty sure she already knows. 

 

“But say you go in green, and he can spin things his way. He paints you as a monster in the news, someone who’s out of control, a vigilante who couldn’t tell rough, consensual sex from rape,” Bruce says, and his expression says that the words are distasteful. “He says you’re a savage, and that people like you—like us—can’t be allowed to roam free without some kind of government oversight, that we can’t be trusted.” 

 

Jennifer bites back her first response, that Bruce is thinking more about his greener half than hers, but she suspects he can read it in her expression.  

 

“You’d be their excuse, Jen,” Bruce says quietly. “But they’d bring up the Other Guy, and they’d talk about control and registration and oversight, and the fact that we’re related, and eventually, we’d have to make a choice, and I’m not sure that either of us could live with our options.” 

 

Jennifer shakes her head. “You’re being an alarmist. You’re looking at the worst case scenario, and you’re saying we should always act as if the worst was yet to come.” 

 

Bruce’s expression is very unimpressed. “If that were actually true, I never would have stayed with Tony, and I never would have married him. I certainly wouldn’t have tried to save the world from the Chitauri.” 

 

That’s probably true, as far as it goes, but Jennifer also thinks that she’s right, too, and that she and Bruce are on opposite sides of the divide. His life experiences cause him to think about the worst possible scenario, and then do what he can to guard against it. 

 

Jennifer’s whole life is predicated on the idea that the vast majority of people are pretty decent, and they’re generally not out to get her. 

 

She’s not sure there’s a middle ground for them. 

 

“I don’t believe that,” Jennifer says. “I don’t disagree that there could be a scenario where what I’m doing bites me in the ass, but I’m not you, Bruce. No one who sees me is going to mistake me for being out of control. If anything, I’m _more_ in control when I’m green than when I’m not.” 

 

She knows it’s a mistake even as the words leave her mouth. She watches as Bruce’s expression closes off, as he goes still and tense, and she winces. “I didn’t mean it like that.” 

 

“Yes, you did,” he replies in a flat voice. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Jen. If it works for you, that’s great.” 

 

Jennifer would give just about anything to rewind the last thirty seconds to find some way of not throwing Bruce’s infirmity in his face. “Bruce.” 

 

“No,” he says, holding up a hand. “Look, I’m glad for you, okay? I am. I just—I think I’m going to take off. I have a couple of deadlines, and nothing that can’t be put off here, so I should go. I’ll talk to you soon.” 

 

And then he just leaves, and Jennifer is left standing in a hotel room that isn’t hers, surrounded by Bruce’s things, feeling like she’d just made a total ass of herself. 

 

She’s pretty sure some of that is on Bruce, and his sensitivities, but inadvertently suggesting that she has more control than he does, and that everybody knows it had been tasteless, even if accurate. 

 

Jennifer debates on what to do next, and then she decides to call Tony, because he’s probably the best option at this point. “Hey.” 

 

“I take it the conversation did not go well,” Tony says flatly. 

 

“Uh, you could say that,” Jennifer says with a wince. “I may have insinuated that I have better control and that everybody knows it, and therefore people wouldn’t blame me for something going wrong the way they’d blame Bruce.” 

 

There’s a long pause. “Bruce talked to you about the news stories?” 

 

“Yeah,” Jennifer says. “And then he left, and all of his things are still in his room, but he was talking like he wasn’t coming back, so I called you.” 

 

“Stay put,” Tony orders. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.” 

 

There’s something in the tone of Tony’s voice that has Jennifer doing exactly as ordered. Tony is so relaxed with her most of the time that hearing him snap underscores just how pissed off he is. 

 

He must have pushed it, because it’s only about an hour later when Jennifer hears a knock on the door and finds Tony standing in the hallway. “Tony.” 

 

“Listen to me,” Tony says in a low voice, stepping inside and closing the door behind him. “I don’t give a flying fuck what you do in your off hours, but give Bruce the benefit of the doubt. He thinks through worst case scenarios so we don’t have to, and if he says something is a bad idea, do him the fucking courtesy of listening to him.” 

 

Jennifer rears back. “I did!” 

 

Tony cocks an eyebrow. “Did you? Or did you listen to him and think of all the ways he’s wrong?” 

 

She opens her mouth to object and then realizes she can’t. She’s been on the defensive since the night before, and she hadn’t been prepared to listen to Bruce’s words of caution, no matter how thoughtful or well considered they were.  

 

Plus, honestly, she’s an attorney, and she’s trained to think up counterarguments, _always._  

 

“What do I do?” 

 

“You listen to him the next time he suggests caution,” Tony snaps. “And you figure out how to plant a bug helps us figure out what kind of mole we have at SHIELD. I don’t care how you do it, or if you involve Steve or Natasha, but you get it done.” He stalks over to Bruce’s suitcase and pulls out a box. “Get it as close to a main computer as you can, the closer to the center of the Triskelion the better.” 

 

“What are you going to do?” Jennifer asks. 

 

Tony glares at her. “Right now? I’m going back to New York because we can’t afford for anybody to know that Bruce and I were in town at the same time. If Bruce doesn’t show up in a couple of days, I have ways of finding him.” 

 

“Call me when you do?” Jennifer asks. 

 

Tony sighs. “Yeah, of course. Jen, look, if anybody understands the urge to play superhero, it’s me. I _get it_. But it’s not just you that pays if you make a wrong call, it’s Bruce, too. So, if you’re going to do your own thing, at least let us know so we can back you up.” 

 

It’s fair and unfair all at the same time, Jennifer thinks. Fair, because she hadn’t given any thought to the fallout if she makes the wrong call or hurts the wrong person. Unfair, because no one knows what it’s like for _her_ to have a Hulk living under her skin. 

 

Bruce might come the closest, but it’s not the same, and it’s probably harder for Bruce to understand than it is for Tony, _because_ of the differences. 

 

She glances down at the box in her hand, and she knows that she owes both of them this much. Someone at SHIELD had been responsible for Bruce nearly dying, and Jennifer has the means to keep that from happening again. 

 

She’ll do it. 

 

 

It kills Tony to go straight back to New York, but he knows Bruce well enough to know that he’ll probably walk off his anger, go back to the hotel, and then call Jen to apologize. They really can’t afford to let anybody know they were both in D.C., because someone is bound to get suspicious. 

 

The downside to being famous, Tony thinks. It’s almost impossible to go anywhere without being noticed. Bruce can still go incognito, but Tony can’t. 

 

He tries to put it out of his mind when he gets back to the Tower, waiting for Bruce to call him. Instead of a call from his husband, though, Jarvis says, “Sir, there’s something on the news that you need to see.” 

 

“Pull it up on the main screen, J,” Tony replies, pouring several fingers of scotch, not bothering with ice cubes. 

 

“…no word yet as to what caused Dr. Selvig’s sudden breakdown,” a newscaster is saying over video of a naked man running around Stonehenge. “Dr. Selvig has been taken into custody and is receiving treatment. Authorities state that they have no plans on charging him with a crime at this time, but want to be certain that he isn’t a danger to himself or others.” 

 

Tony frowns. “Shit. J, call Bruce.” 

 

“Dr. Banner isn’t answering,” Jarvis replies after a few seconds. “Would you like to leave a message?” 

 

“Yeah, I would,” Tony replies. When he hears the beep, he says, “Bruce, I know Jen hurt your feelings, but I need you to call me. Something is going on with Selvig, and I think we might have a situation.” 

 

Tony ends the call and drums his fingers on the bar. From what he knows, much like Barton, Selvig made a complete recovery after Loki had addled his brain. It could just be coincidence, but Tony doesn’t believe in those. 

 

Or, rather, he refuses to assume that it _is_ one until he has proof. 

 

“Jarvis, do we have a way to contact Agent Barton?” Tony asks. 

 

“I do have a phone number for him, sir,” Jarvis replies. 

 

“Let’s call him,” Tony replies. There were other SHIELD agents who had also been subverted, but Barton is the only one Tony knows by name. 

 

Barton answers immediately. “Stark. To what do I owe this dubious honor?” 

 

“I wanted to make sure you weren’t going off the deep end,” Tony replies. “Have you seen the news about Selvig?” 

 

There’s a pause. “Yeah, I saw it, and Fury and Natasha already called. They seem to think I’m better off where I am, removed from the action.” 

 

“And where are you?” Tony asks. “I’m only asking because of my deep and abiding concern.” 

 

Barton snorts. “Yeah, yeah. I’ve got a place that’s off the beaten path, and that’s looking like a good call right now. Don’t worry about me.” 

 

“Call me if you need anything,” Tony orders. “After what you did for Bruce when the Mandarin had him, you get an emergency Iron Man call.” 

 

Barton laughs. “I wasn’t the only one involved. It was a team effort.” 

 

“My point exactly,” Tony says.  

 

“What about Bruce?” Barton asks. “How’s he doing?” 

 

“Jury’s out on that at the moment,” Tony admits. “He had a spat with his cousin.” 

 

“Anything I can do?” 

 

“Not unless you can find some way to magically ensure that Bruce will never lose control again, other than shooting him,” Tony says candidly.  

 

Barton sighs. “Would that I could, Tony. He’s good people.” 

 

“Yeah, he is,” Tony agrees. 

 

“Look, if you need me, I’m there, no matter what Fury says,” Barton replies.  

 

Tony nods. “Same here. Take care of yourself, Clint.” 

 

“You too.” 

 

Tony doesn’t have any answers, so he calls Fury’s private line, on the number Fury doesn’t know he has. “I want to know what the hell is going on with Selvig, and if it’s something we need to be concerned about.” 

 

Fury sighs audibly. “If it were something that concerned you, Mr. Stark, I would have called _you_ , rather than the other way around.” 

 

“Selvig has apparently taken leave of his senses, and he was fine after Manhattan,” Tony points out. “That leads me to believe that something big is going down.” 

 

“You might be right about that, but it’s not something that we need the Avengers for,” Fury replies. “If that changes, you’ll be the first to know.” 

 

Fury ends the call, leaving Tony none the wiser, but he orders Jarvis to keep abreast of the news coming out of the UK, anything that might give him a clue as to what’s going on, and then he sits back and waits for Bruce. 

 

Back when they’d first gotten together, even up until the point where they’d solved the problem with the palladium, Tony might have assumed that Bruce had run for good. These days, Tony _knows_ Bruce will come back home.  

 

He’s drinking and idly playing with a model of a new iteration of the suit—he’s a tinkerer—when Jarvis says, “Dr. Banner is on the phone.” 

 

“Hey, where are you?” Tony asks as soon as Bruce’s face appears on the screen. “You okay?” 

 

Bruce grimaces. “Yeah, I feel like an idiot. I overreacted to something that Jen said, and I needed a long walk to clear my head.” 

 

“She told me,” Tony replies. “She called after you left.” 

 

Bruce curses. “Did you come down?” 

 

“I took one of the stealth suits, and I kept it quiet,” Tony says. “And I told Jen to figure out how to plant the bug. She’ll do it.” 

 

Bruce shakes his head. “I didn’t want to guilt her into doing it.” 

 

“Lucky for you, I had no problem doing just that,” Tony replies. “It had to happen, Jen was our best bet, and she hurt you.” 

 

“She didn’t mean to,” Bruce protests. 

 

“No, she didn’t, but she was thoughtless, and you and I both know that,” Tony says. “Now she does, too.” 

 

Bruce sighs. “I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree on that front.” 

 

“Bruce,” Tony says and takes another drink. “Look, you know how I feel about Jen. She’s like a sister. But she’s riding a really fine line, and we both know it. If she goes after the wrong person, it could end badly, and after what happened with General Ross, _she_ should know it. Hell, Bruce, she’s not an idiot.” 

 

Bruce shrugs. “Yeah, well, having a secret identity can go to your head sometimes. I—it’s—it’s not like I don’t get it. Letting go can feel good. But the collateral damage when I change means significant injuries and property damage. She gets to catch bad guys.” 

 

“You’re jealous,” Tony says. 

 

“As already discussed, and I copped to it, but it’s more than that,” Bruce replies. “But enough about me. What’s this about Selvig?” 

 

“Are you still in touch with him?” Tony asks. 

 

Bruce shakes his head. “Not really. We’ve exchanged a few emails, but we were never really friends. We helped each other out reviewing papers before, trading ideas for tough problems. Our areas of study were related, but not overlapping, which made Selvig ideal.” 

 

“Well, I called Fury, and he says it’s not a job for the Avengers, and he’ll let us know if something changes,” Tony replies. 

 

Bruce frowns. “I was watching the recording. Selvig was shouting about convergences, and he was at Stonehenge.” 

 

“What are you thinking?” 

 

“I’m thinking we may run into some trouble from Asgard,” Bruce says. “And if that’s the case, Thor is a heavy hitter. The more Avengers involved, the more property damage, and this isn’t American soil.” 

 

“Agreed,” Tony says. “I’m reluctant to concede the matter, but I do agree. When are you coming home?” 

 

“First thing tomorrow,” Bruce replies. “I need a few hours of sleep, and then I’ll catch the train back.” 

 

“You going to talk to Jennifer before you do?” Tony asks. 

 

Bruce sighs. “No. And before you say it, I’m not holding a grudge, but I need a little time to process.” 

 

“Bruce, even if you were holding a grudge for something she said or did, that’s just being human,” Tony says. “She’s your cousin, she’s family, and she’s fantastic 99% of the time. Which probably gives her a leg up on both of us because I’m pretty sure we’re assholes.” 

 

“Which makes us a good fit,” Bruce replies with a smile. “I’ll talk to her soon, but I need some space right now.” 

 

Tony nods. “You’re allowed. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” 

 

“I love you,” Bruce replies. “Thanks for coming when Jennifer called.” 

 

“Family,” Tony says, and in lieu of actually saying the words, he blows an extravagant kiss, which makes Bruce smirk and end the call. 

 

Tony finishes off his drink and heads for bed, wishing that Bruce were there with him. They rarely spend much time apart these days, and the bed feels empty without him. 

 

After an hour or so of trying to get to sleep, Tony heads down to the lab. If he can’t sleep, he can work. 

 

He’s there the next day when Bruce returns, looking exhausted and careworn, later in the day than Tony had assumed he’d be there. “Something keep you in D.C.?” 

 

“There was another meeting that Pepper wanted me to take,” Bruce replies. “She called this morning and asked if I’d handle it, and there wasn’t a good reason for me to say no.” 

 

“What do you know about the convergence?” Tony asks, since that’s what he’s been working on all day. 

 

Bruce frowns. “Selvig wrote a paper on the theory. If the various realms come into cosmic alignment, strange effects can occur, altering the laws of physics for a brief period of time.” 

 

“And there are reports of just that,” Tony replies. “Gravity being disrupted, wormholes appearing. I have half a mind to contact Fury again, just to be sure there’s nothing we can do.” 

 

Bruce’s expression turns wistful. “Well, it would be pretty cool to see the disturbances in person. Gravity wells, wormholes—I don’t we’ll have a chance to see something like that up close and personal again in our lifetimes.” 

 

Tony smirks. “You know, Bruce, I don’t think we’ve taken a single vacation day this year. We should fix that.” 

 

Bruce lets out a breath. “Yeah, I could use the break, and the distance would probably do me good.” 

 

“All right, let’s pack a bag,” Tony replies. “Never let it be said that I can’t show my husband a good time.” 


	2. Chapter 2

Pepper gets the news that Tony and Bruce are flying over the Atlantic when she tries to call Bruce to discuss the outcome of the meeting. “Hey,” Bruce says when he answers. “I’m typing up my notes now.” 

 

“I was hoping we could get lunch to talk about it,” Pepper replies. 

 

Bruce pauses. “Ah, that could be a problem. Tony and I are flying to London.” 

 

“London?” Pepper asks, surprised. “I didn’t think you’d scheduled any trips.” 

 

Bruce chuckles. “Yeah, well, apparently there are some strange phenomena occurring that mess with the laws of physics as we know them. We’re talking disturbances in gravity, wormholes—” 

 

“Catnip for a physicist,” Pepper replies, amused. “All right, send me your notes, and if I have any questions, I’ll give you a call.” 

 

“Sorry, Pep,” Bruce apologizes. “It was kind of on a whim. When Tony saw the news about Selvig, he started digging, and I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to see it in person.” 

 

Pepper laughs, hearing the underlying excitement in his voice. “You boys have fun, and stay safe. I’ll make sure things are covered here, but you’ve got a week! No more!” 

 

“Thanks, Pep!” Tony calls out in the background. 

 

“Thanks,” Bruce echoes. “See you soon.” 

 

It’s a good thing that Bruce is generally on top of things, so she doesn’t have any doubt she can do without him for a few days. Tony, not so much, but she knows they don’t have any looming deadlines she needs him for right at the moment. 

 

More pressing, really, is the fact that Tony and Bruce need an assistant, and a PR person. Tony’s always getting himself into trouble, and while Bruce is very good at staying out of the public eye—unless it absolutely cannot be helped—they could utilize the press better. 

 

One of the reasons that Stark Industries’ stock has risen so high under Pepper’s reign is that she’s known how to spin their victories as well as their defeats, but she doesn’t have time to handle it personally at this point. 

 

Luckily, she has just the person in mind. 

 

“Matty, thanks for meeting with me,” Pepper says, standing to greet her visitor. She’s chosen to have the meeting in her office, but in the sitting area she uses when she wants to put someone at ease—or lull them into a false sense of complacency. “You’re looking great.” 

 

“Buttering me up will get you everywhere, Ms. Potts,” Matty replies, busing her on the cheek. “Tell me you’re back on the market.” 

 

Pepper raises an eyebrow. “You’re asking for a friend, I’m sure.” 

 

Matty smirks. “You don’t know. I could be straight as an arrow these days.” 

 

Pepper matches his smirk. “What’s your opinion on Dr. Banner?” 

 

“Rumpled, philanthropic, with a potential landmine of issues,” Matty replies. “And I’d do him in a heartbeat if he weren’t so adorably taken.” 

 

“And Mr. Stark?” Pepper asks, her own opinion aligning with Matty’s. 

 

Matty quirks an eyebrow, his blue eyes bright against his tanned skin. “Hot like burning, entertaining as hell, and probably a great fuck, but I’m guessing he’s a handful and then some. Dr. Banner must have the patience of a saint.” 

 

“He does,” Pepper confirms. “At least until he doesn’t. He’s also a fantastic cook.” 

 

“And they both need serious PR assistance,” Matty adds. “If I had to guess, they’re a full time job in and of themselves.” 

 

Pepper nods. “Right now, they’re in London chasing strange phenomena.” 

 

Matty taps his fingers against his chin. “Hmm…preeminent physicist pursues a once in a lifetime opportunity to see a scientific marvel for himself, and his very loving husband keeps him company.” 

 

“A visit to Navarro?” 

 

“A chance to witness, up close and personal, the good they’ve done and the lives they’ve changed,” Matty replies. “With a dash of Dr. Banner as everyman for good measure. Oddly enough, if you spin it right, Banner humanizes Stark, and vice versa.” 

 

Pepper nods. “You’ve been thinking about this.” 

 

“Ever since you called me with the offer,” Matty replies. “What I can’t figure out is why me? There have to be a hundred other people out there with more PR experience than I have. I mean, sure, I’ve run political campaigns, but I’ve been a freelancer for the last few years.” 

 

Pepper smiles. “Because of this.” Having prepared for the question, she pulls up two news articles on her Stark pad and watches Matty wince. 

 

They’ve known each other for ten years now—Pepper mostly in her capacity as Tony’s personal assistant, and Matty as the guy either trying to get donations for the political candidate du jour, or as a journalist. 

 

The two articles are a study in contrasts; the first had been written about six months before Afghanistan and had been absolutely scathing. “Warmonger” and “Merchant of Death” were used liberally and to great effect. Matty always had a way with words. 

 

The other article, coming two months after Tony’s return from Afghanistan, while Tony was still struggling for control of his company, was markedly different. 

 

“When a man turns over a new leaf, such as when an addict gets clean, we applaud,” it began. “When a man who made weapons of mass destruction chooses to turn his attention to a more peaceful means of saving the world, we suggest he’s gone insane. 

 

“Perhaps, instead, we must ask if the world has gone insane, if we believe that more weapons makes us safer. Tony Stark may prove to be a beacon of sanity in a world gone mad.” 

 

“Not my best work,” Matty says. “And I had to fight to publish that second story. No one wanted to touch it.” 

 

“Not at the usual outlets,” Pepper agrees. “You know you’re the first journalist to come out in support of Tony’s vision, and you’ve generally been supportive of Stark Industries’ attempts to introduce new technologies.” 

 

Matty hesitates. “That’s true. I support clean energy efforts in general, and SI is doing more on that front than most companies, in truly innovative ways.” 

 

Pepper nods. “But that’s not why I asked you here to make an offer.” 

 

“I’m listening,” Matty replies. 

 

“You changed your mind about Tony, and you said so publicly, and in a way that helped Tony retake his company with minimal fuss from the board,” Pepper says. 

 

Matty shrugs. “As I see it, a journalist has a duty to the truth. You can have bad facts or shitty experts, or you can ask the wrong questions, and you’re going to have a crappy story. If you’re good at your job, you’re going to get past all of that and write a good story.” 

 

“And your job as a PR person?” Pepper asks. 

 

Matty gives her a look. “To make the person look good, or at least make them look like less of an asshole if at all possible.” 

 

“For some people, sure,” Pepper says. “But for Bruce and Tony, they need someone to tell the truth.” 

 

Matty frowns. “I’m not sure I understand.” 

 

“People say a lot of things about them, about their relationship, about their positions as Avengers, and whether they’re deserving of what they have,” Pepper replies. “You were one of the first outside Bruce or myself to see what Tony was trying to do, and to speak the truth about it.” 

 

Matty leans back in his chair. “Okay, that I get, and I even understand why you contacted me, but what makes you think I’m going to give up the freelance gig for this?” 

 

“Because we’ll pay you well,” Pepper replies. “Because it will be interesting, and you’ll get to travel. The benefits are good. And we will donate generously to the charities you select.” 

 

To anybody else, it would probably look like Pepper was trying to buy them off, but Matty understands immediately. 

 

Pepper had done extensive research on a variety of people before calling Matty in. The candidates he’d selected, the stories he’d run, all point at a strong desire to change the world for the better. 

 

“I think that Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner are on the right track,” Matty admits. “You’re saying they’re going to need a little help getting the rest of the world to go along with those plans.” 

 

Pepper shrugs. “Did you see the news coverage after the Battle of Manhattan?” 

 

“It could have been better,” Matty replies. “A savvy PR campaign would have highlighted the lives saved and the property damage avoided, plus pointing out that the Avengers prevented a nuke from being deployed.” 

 

“Could you have done it?” Pepper asks. 

 

Matty nods. “With the right promises that I’d be protected if whoever deployed the nuke got pissed off at me.” 

 

“Have you heard of Bruce’s cousin?” Pepper asks. 

 

“Sure, civil rights lawyer suing the Army on their behalf,” Matty says. “And her motion is a thing of beauty. I have no idea if she’ll win, but she’s got a decent chance.” 

 

Pepper nods. “Then let me just say that for those Tony cares about or feels responsible for, he’s willing to turn the world upside down.” 

 

Matty nods. “Does the fact that I’m gay have anything to do with your offer?” 

 

“It’s nice to know you aren’t going to be a homophobic asshole, but no,” Pepper replies. “I wouldn’t have cared if you were straight, gay, bi, or some other flavor entirely.” 

 

Matty stands up. “I need to think about it.” 

 

Pepper nods. “How about this? I’ll pay you a retainer. You stay in New York until they return from London, and then we’ll discuss next steps after you meet them. I think you’ll hit it off.” 

 

Matty half-turns on his way out the door. “How did you know that the offer of charitable contributions would get me?” 

 

“I saw the news,” Pepper admits. “Your brother’s story was well publicized. How’s he doing, by the way?” 

 

“Better than I expected,” Matty replies. “He’s staying with me right now, and I’m going to help him get on his feet.” 

 

“We offer comprehensive health benefits for dependents, too,” Pepper says. “And we have a very liberal policy on who counts as one.” 

 

Matty stares at the floor. “I hope you know that I’d limp along as a freelancer if I didn’t believe in what Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner are doing. If I thought they were a couple of rich assholes out to rule the world, I’d tell you to fuck off.” 

 

“I’ve seen your coverage on Navarro,” Pepper says sympathetically. “I know that, Matty. For the record, I wouldn’t have invited you for an interview if I didn’t think you could do this in good conscience. It’s what put you on the top of my list.” 

 

Matty shakes his head. “I’ve met a lot of executives, Pepper Potts, but you have to be one of the most remarkable.” 

 

“There’s one thing that New York taught me, Matty,” Pepper says. “When the Avengers are called in, there’s going to be collateral damage, and not everybody is going to like that. But what they do is necessary. When the stakes are that great, we can’t leave anything to chance.” 

 

Matty smiles. “Well, that might be true, but I feel the same way about climate change, and they’re on the cutting edge of that. Even if I don’t take the job, I’ll continue to support their efforts.” 

 

And Pepper is left wishing that there were more people like Matty Taylor in the world. 

 

 

When Jennifer doesn’t hear from Bruce, she waits a couple of days, wanting to give him sufficient time to cool down. She’s not terribly comforted by Jarvis’ news that Bruce and Tony are out of town. 

 

“Out of town where?” Jennifer asks. “Bruce didn’t say anything.” 

 

“There are some strange phenomena occurring in London, Ms. Walters,” Jarvis replies. “It proved too much of a temptation for Dr. Banner and Mr. Stark to resist.” 

 

That makes her feel a little better at least, to know that her words hadn’t sent him running. “When you get the chance, let him know I called?” 

 

“Of course,” Jarvis replies. “Good luck with your trial.” 

 

Jennifer smiles at the sheer humanness of that sentiment. “Thanks.” 

 

That doesn’t leave her with many options when it comes to apologizing for her careless words, though. She could call Bruce’s cell, but she doesn’t want to have this conversation over the phone. Ideally, she’d go up in person, but her trial prevents that, and videoconferencing is the next best bet. 

 

But that’s going to have to wait, because the time difference would play merry hell with her trial schedule, and she can’t get away until it’s over. 

 

She’s busy prepping for the next day in her hotel room when Steve calls her. “Hey, did you know Bruce and Tony were in London?” 

 

“Just learned about it an hour or so ago,” Jennifer replies. “They didn’t say anything to me.” 

 

“I guess gravity wells and wormholes would be too tempting for a physicist to pass up,” Steve says. “Do you know if they’re going to get involved?” 

 

Jennifer frowns. “I don’t know. Should they?” 

 

“There are a lot of reasons why they shouldn’t,” Steve replies. “Do you have time to talk?” 

 

She looks at her pile of work, then breathes an internal sigh. “Sure, if you can meet me. I’ve got a lot of work yet to do tonight.” 

 

“Just an hour or so,” Steve promises. “I won’t keep you longer than that.” 

 

“All right,” Jennifer agrees. “I’m still staying at the same place. I’ll meet you down in the bar in an hour.” 

 

“See you there,” Steve replies. 

 

Jennifer knows Steve well enough to suspect that he’s going to show up early, but she doesn’t have the time, so she works right up to the limits of her hour and then heads downstairs. 

 

Steve sits at a two-top in an out of the way corner, and Jennifer stops by the bar to order a glass of wine before joining him. 

 

He’s dressed casually in jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt with a leather jacket, and Jennifer can’t help noticing how good he looks, especially when he glances up from his beer with a broad grin. 

 

“You look great,” Steve says with unforced sincerity.  

 

“You too,” Jennifer replies, a little flustered. “How are you?” 

 

He shrugs. “Good. Staying busy. You know.” 

 

“Yeah, I do know,” Jennifer replies. 

 

“How’s the trial going?” Steve asks. “Natasha said you weren’t sure if it was going to come out in your favor.” 

 

“The last few days have been better,” Jennifer says. “I think we might have a shot at winning now.” 

 

Steve nods. “That’s great.” 

 

There’s a long, awkward pause, and Jennifer finally blurts out, “Bruce and I had a fight, so if you’re thinking that I can help you get to him, or convince him to do something, you’re out of luck.” 

 

Steve appears taken aback. “I didn’t think you and Bruce ever fought.” 

 

“We had our moments as kids, but no, usually we don’t. But we have slightly different views on what we should use our abilities for, mostly because we’re vastly different and also the same.” Jennifer forces a smile. “You don’t want to hear about this.” 

 

Steve offers a sympathetic smile. “You sound like you could maybe use the break and a listening ear.” 

 

“I could,” Jennifer admits. “But I also have a question for you, and I don’t think you’re going to like it.” 

 

Steve takes a long pull from his beer. “Is this about the mole inside SHIELD?” 

 

Jennifer blinks. “How did you know?” 

 

He laughs. “I’m smarter than I look. I know about the drug that took down Dr. Banner during the Mandarin affair. Someone stole it, most likely from the SHIELD mailroom, someone who knew what to expect and when, and that information wasn’t widely available. That points to a mole.” 

 

“Then you probably already know what Tony and Bruce have asked me to do,” Jennifer says. 

 

Steve nods. “I do. I was on the helicarrier, too. It might be easier if SHIELD thinks we’re dating.” 

 

Jennifer raises her eyebrows. “Is this a subterfuge, or are you trying to ask me out?” 

 

“I wouldn’t mind getting to know you better,” Steve admits. “I’m not ready for a relationship, but I have no idea how this is supposed to work.” 

 

He’s bashful, and Jennifer has to admit that does it for her in a big way, even if she’s pretty sure she doesn’t want to be anything more than friends. “Well, we can go out, and just let people make their own assumptions. Can you get me into the Triskelion?” 

 

“Piece of cake,” Steve replies. “Especially if you’re invited.” 

 

Jennifer raises her eyebrows. “How are you going to manage that?” 

 

“Let me work my magic,” Steve says. “Maybe I can take you to dinner tomorrow?” 

 

Tomorrow is Friday; they usually get done at 4:30, and they have a break for the weekend. She’d thought about going back to New York, but if Bruce and Tony are in London, there’s no point. “I’d like that.” 

 

“Thanks,” Steve replies. “Natasha keeps telling me that I need to get back on the horse and date people, but honestly, you’re the only person who’s been even remotely interesting.” 

 

Jennifer blinks. “I think that was a compliment.” 

 

Steve blushes. “Uh, yeah. I told you I wasn’t good at this.” 

 

“Well, worst case scenario, we end up better friends than we are now,” Jennifer says philosophically.  

 

“That sounds like a pretty great outcome, actually,” Steve replies. 

 

Jennifer laughs. “From where I’m standing, you’re already doing a hell of a lot better than half the guys I’ve dated.” 

 

 

Tony ends up contacting a lab in London that owes him a favor, and they soon have the equipment they need to take all the readings Bruce might want. Tony figures he can get at least a couple of papers out of it, maybe co-written with Selvig and Dr. Jane Foster. 

 

He’s been keeping track of Dr. Foster since he met Thor, and he knows she could be of assistance. So, that’s their first stop. 

 

“Oh, my god,” Darcy says, after Tony knocks on the door of a fairly decent flat. “It’s Tony Stark!” 

 

“Last time I looked,” Tony replies. “I think you probably know my husband.” 

 

“Jane is going to _flip_ when she finds out she wasn’t here to meet Bruce Banner!” Darcy exclaims. “This is so awesome!” 

 

Bruce cocks an eyebrow. “Awesome that we’re here, or awesome that Dr. Foster is missing it?” 

 

“Awesome that Avengers are here,” Darcy says immediately. “I’m a big fan.” 

 

“So, where is Dr. Foster?” Tony asks. “She around anywhere?” 

 

“Thor showed up and took her back to Asgard with him,” Darcy says. “I assume that’s where she is now. It’s a little weird that she and Dr. Selvig are both missing.” 

 

“Selvig isn’t missing,” Bruce replies. “He’s in custody because he was running around Stonehenge naked. Let me guess, Thor showed up where the phenomena are occurring.” 

 

Darcy grins. “Good guess. But Erik?” 

 

“We’ll take care of him,” Tony promises. “But can you take us to the location where Thor appeared?” 

 

Darcy nods. “Oh, sure. No problem at all. Come on, Ian.” She motions to a lanky kid who looks thoroughly cowed by the company he’s suddenly keeping, and he doesn’t utter a word. 

 

The location is surrounded by various officials, but Tony has a few quiet words with the people in charge and manages to get access. “Okay, we can take readings, but we can’t disturb anything,” Tony says when he rejoins Bruce, Darcy, and Ian.  

 

“Of course,” Bruce says. “Readings are all I need anyway. Darcy, do you mind giving me a hand?” 

 

Darcy lights up. “Absolutely! I mean, I don’t mind helping you. Although that was probably obvious.” 

 

Bruce smiles. “Come on.” 

 

Ian runs behind them like a puppy, and Tony strolls along. He’s curious as to the phenomena, but he’s an engineer, not a nuclear physicist, so it doesn’t hold the same appeal for him. Tony would love to have a better understanding of the science behind Asgardian “magic,” but he’s not sure this study will get them there. 

 

But it might help them understand the Nine Realms, or parallel universes, or whatever it is that Earth and Asgard are to each other. 

 

“Watch this,” Darcy says, taking a coin out of her pocket and dropping it. The coin falls and disappears midair, which should definitely not happen. 

 

“The readings are like nothing I’ve seen before,” Bruce murmurs. “Okay, I need more data.” 

 

Tony follows him around indulgently, curious to see what Bruce is going to do with the information they’re collecting.  

 

“Localized wormholes,” Bruce mutters. “Okay, I can work with that. Displacement of the gravitational field. Interesting. Darcy, come over here.” 

 

Darcy goes willingly, Ian at her heels, and Tony contents himself with looking around. From what Tony understands it’s an isolated occurrence, which means the results aren’t repeatable, and are therefore of little interest to him. 

 

But opening up doors between worlds that aren’t controlled by Thor’s people? Tony is _very_ interested in that. 

 

“If we could get a bead on this, we might be able to open our own door,” Bruce says, echoing Tony’s thoughts. “The barriers between worlds are thinning.” 

 

“Okay, as much as I like muscle-y guy, that doesn’t necessarily sound like a good thing,” Darcy says. 

 

Bruce shakes his head. “It probably isn’t. Okay, we’ve got enough, and I don’t want to risk any of us getting caught in one of these portals. I’m not sure what it would do.” 

 

“You sure?” Tony asks. 

 

“I’d like to run the data,” Bruce says, sounding distracted. “I’ll need sufficient processing speed. Maybe we can link up with one of the servers at home.” 

 

“You could use Jane’s lab,” Darcy offers. “I’m sure she wouldn’t mind.” 

 

Bruce nods. “Yeah, let’s do that.” 

 

“What about Erik?” Darcy asks. 

 

“Tony will help you get him out,” Bruce replies. “I’ll get set up and start running the preliminary data.” 

 

Tony shoots Bruce a look. “Fine, but don’t have too much fun without me.” 

 

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Bruce replies. “See you soon.” 

 

Tony figures that he has his marching orders, and he brings Ian along with him while Darcy escorts Bruce to Jane’s lab. 

 

They run into their first problem when they reach the guard station to check Selvig out of the mental ward. “Only family can assume responsibility,” the guard says. 

 

“I don’t think you understand,” Tony replies. “We need Dr. Selvig for important Avenger business.” 

 

“Family members only,” the guard replies, unmoved. 

 

“I’m his nephew,” Ian blurts out. “I, um, Mr. Stark asked me to come to help him. With my uncle.” 

 

Tony barely refrains from rolling his eyes. The kid couldn’t be more obvious if he tried. “You heard him. Can we retrieve Dr. Selvig now?” 

 

The guard doesn’t appear to believe them, but he hands them the paperwork. “Fill that out.” 

 

Ian stares at the paperwork. “I have no idea what I’m doing,” he hisses. 

 

“Fake it,” Tony whispers. “No one will know the difference.” 

 

Ian grimaces but begins filling in the blanks on the form, and Tony leans back in his chair and glances around the waiting area. Once Ian’s finished, they hand the forms to the guard, who returns Selvig’s personal property, including a wallet, a bag of prescription medications, and metal spikes. 

 

“Do you know what those are?” Tony asks. 

 

Ian shakes his head. “No idea.” 

 

Selvig appears, wearing a rather odd assortment of clothing. Tony knows that physicists generally aren’t known for their fashion sense, but gym shorts with that sweater? He has to be at least slightly insane.  

 

At least Selvig recognizes Tony immediately. “Stark, are you here for the Convergence?” 

 

“Is that what we’re calling it?” Tony asks. 

 

“All nine realms coming into alignment,” Selvig says. “The laws of gravity upended!” 

 

The guard eyes them suspiciously, and Tony puts a hand on Selvig’s shoulder to lead him out. “You can tell us all about it once we’re at Dr. Foster’s lab. Bruce is getting set up there.” 

 

“You said Dr. Banner is here,” Selvig says. “Good, that’s good. Smart man, Dr. Banner.” 

 

“I think so,” Tony replies. 

 

He’s not sure they’re going to get much sense out of him, given that he’s been in a mental ward, and he doesn’t seem like he’s recovered. Of course, having a god rummage around your brain would fuck anybody up, and Tony’s betting that something about the “Convergence” opens Selvig up to Loki’s influence again. 

 

And if the Convergence is happening here, and Clint is safely tucked away wherever he goes between missions, it would make sense that Selvig feels the effects and Clint doesn’t. 

 

“It’s all happening now,” Selvig says, looking up at the large number of birds flying over their heads. 

 

“A murmuration of starlings,” Ian says. “My dad used to take me bird watching,” he adds when Tony glances at him in surprise. 

 

The flock—or murmuration, whatever the hell that is—disappears into a hole in the sky, and a few seconds later emerges from the ground under their feet.  

 

“Shit,” Tony says. “The world isn’t supposed to work like this!” 

 

“It doesn’t,” Selvig replies, sounding a bit more lucid. “It’s the interaction of the nine realms, and it happens once every 5,000 years when the alignment is just right.” 

 

“Let’s get to the lab,” Tony says. “This whole thing is freaking me out.” 

 

His entire life, Tony’s been able to rely on the laws of physics as constants, and right now the world feels decidedly unstable. 

 

 

Bruce refuses to believe that the laws of physics have been suspended or upended. There’s so much yet to learn about the way the universe works, and the arrival of aliens—Thor, the Chitauri, maybe others they don’t know about—throws additional variables into the equation. 

 

But if they can zero in on those variables, figure out why the alignment causes gravitational changes and wormholes, they’ll be that much closer to unlocking the secrets of the universe. 

 

Bruce hasn’t been _this_ excited about physics in a long time. 

 

“So, they’re essentially parallel universes, not different galaxies,” Bruce says. “But not parallel universes as we understand them in M theory.” 

 

Selvig nods. “Precisely! They are interconnected, but rarely affecting each other.” 

 

“Except for the Convergence,” Bruce says. “The alignment must affect gravity, warping the physical laws as we know them.” 

 

“The gravitational spikes could be used to take additional readings, even affect the gravitational wells and wormholes if necessary,” Selvig says. “It’s not going to prevent the world from going to hell, though.” 

 

Tony clears his throat. “Who says it’s going to hell? This has happened before, and the world is still here. There’s no reason to panic just yet.” 

 

“Tony’s right,” Bruce says, and sees both Darcy and Ian relax. “It might cause some minor upset, but the Convergence will be brief, and the physical laws will go back to normal afterwards, from what you’ve said.” 

 

“You’re right.” Selvig rubs his eyes. “You’ll pardon me, but I haven’t quite felt myself since this started.” 

 

Bruce grimaces. “Well, the Convergence opens our world to the influence of the other realms, which means that your mind is probably more vulnerable now than it’s been since the Chitauri invasion. It’s really no wonder you’re feeling a little—” 

 

He pauses, trying to come up with a polite term for “crazy enough to go streaking at Stonehenge.” 

 

“I think the word you’re looking for is ‘unbalanced,’” Tony supplies. “As in, a little off kilter.” 

 

“That’s one way to describe it,” Selvig mutters. “What would you suggest?” 

 

Bruce shrugs. “Waiting it out? I mean, it’s not like we can alter the alignment of the universe, or somehow stop it from rotating. The Convergence is going to happen, whether we like it or not.” 

 

The door to the flat opens and a woman enters. Bruce recognizes her from pictures, and he has to admit that Dr. Foster is lovely, even in what looks like a dress right from the Middle Ages. Thor is close on her heels. 

 

“Jane!” Darcy exclaims. “You can’t just disappear like that!” 

 

“Sorry,” Jane says, returning Darcy’s hug. “I needed to go with Thor.” She catches sight of Bruce, Tony, and Selvig. “Oh, um, wow. Okay.” 

 

“I told them you would be disappointed not to be here when they showed up, but here you are!” Darcy says. “Jane, Tony Stark and Bruce Banner. Guys, this is Jane.” 

 

She’s blushing. “It’s really nice to meet both of you.” 

 

Thor actually hangs up his hammer on the rack by the door, which Bruce finds completely endearing. “Well met, friends.” 

 

“Thor, good to see you,” Tony says, hands in his pockets and rocking back on his heels. 

 

“And Erik, where have you been?” Jane asks. 

 

“Ah, there was a bit of trouble, but nothing I couldn’t handle,” Selvig replies, standing up to hug her. 

 

He’s still not wearing any pants, having taken them off as soon as they got to the flat. When Ian asked, Selvig had said it helped him think, and Bruce figured it didn’t make a lot of sense to argue with him. 

 

“Hi,” Jane says awkwardly. 

 

When Selvig releases her, he turns to Thor. “Thor! How are you?” 

 

“I’m well,” Thor replies, sounding a little puzzled. 

 

“And will your brother be joining you this time?” Selvig asks. 

 

Thor hesitates. “No. My brother…is dead.” 

 

“Oh, thank god,” Selvig says immediately, and Bruce is glad that someone that wasn’t him said it, because he’s pretty sure that everyone other than Thor had been thinking it. Selvig quickly catches himself. “I mean, I’m sorry for your loss.” 

 

But he doesn’t look sorry when he hugs Thor enthusiastically. 

 

Privately, Bruce wonders if Loki is truly dead, because Selvig doesn’t seem to be acting any differently, and Loki’s influence should have dissipated. 

 

Bruce considers it. Unless, of course, Loki had somehow changed Selvig’s brain chemistry, and the Convergence had triggered a breakdown. 

 

“We have to get moving,” Jane announces. “One of Asgard’s enemies is going to use the Convergence to try to end the world.” 

 

Bruce sighs. He’s over potential apocalypses. 

 

“I’m going to get changed,” Jane says. “Just a minute.” 

 

“So, how have you been?” Tony asks Thor when Jane’s retreated into what Bruce presumes is her bedroom. “Good?” 

 

Thor smiles slightly. “I have been fighting many battles since we last saw one another, but I have been successful at bringing peace to the nine realms.” He pauses. “Or I had been until just the other day.” 

 

“Well, we can’t all be winners all the time,” Tony replies with an insincere grin. 

 

“Thor, what do you know about the Convergence?” Bruce asks. 

 

“The realms come into alignment, and while it is quite the spectacle, and may cause minor disturbances, they quickly pass,” Thor replies. “The Convergence itself lasts only moments, and then it’s over.” 

 

“And this guy who wants to end the world as we know it?” Darcy asks. 

 

“Malekith has a weapon called the Aether,” Thor says. “It attached itself to Jane, which was why I had to bring her to Asgard, to cure her.” 

 

“Which was fun, and now I’m fine,” Jane says, emerging from her bedroom in far more casual clothing. “Malekith needs to focus the Aether at a certain spot at the precise moment of Convergence. We need to figure out where that is, and then we’ll need to keep him from succeeding.” 

 

“How do we find out the location?” Darcy asks. 

 

Selvig grabs a map. “I remember now! I went to Stonehenge because I knew it held the answers. It’s a map!” 

 

He clears a table with a sweep of an arm, scattering everything on the floor, and rolling out a map. “Here, Stonehenge gives us a location.” 

 

He takes out a ruler and a marker and starts drawing lines, tapping the point where the lines all meet. 

 

“Greenwich?” Ian asks. 

 

“That’s where it will be,” Selvig says. “If we put the gravitational spikes around the area, we may be able to adjust the fields as necessary.” 

 

“You’re talking about deflecting gravitational fields,” Bruce says. 

 

“And directing them,” Jane replies. “I know the equipment is usually only meant to sense phenomena, but it’s what we’ve got.” 

 

Tony clears his throat. “You also have me and Bruce. If you need to keep this guy busy, we can help.” 

 

Bruce gives him a look. “You mean _you_ can help. I think we should probably avoid the Other Guy showing up if we can help it.” 

 

Tony shrugs. “I’ll get my suit, if Thor doesn’t mind.” 

 

“Your assistance would be welcome,” Thor replies. “And Dr. Banner, I will endeavor to ensure that we do not require your greener half.” 

 

Bruce nods. “Thanks, Thor.” 

 

“Let’s get going,” Jane says. “We have a lot of ground to cover.” 

 

Bruce wishes he had more time with the data, and that he understood the equipment better. He wishes they just had more time _period_. Making plans on the fly like this usually results in a great deal of destruction. 

 

Wishing it to be so doesn’t make it so, though, as Bruce knows all too well. 

 

As soon as they’re outside the apartment building, Tony summons the armor that he’d brought with him, his mental control over the suit having been perfected since he’d first implanted the micro-transmitters.  

 

“Meet you there,” Tony says, and flies straight up. 

 

Thor begins to swing his hammer. “I, too, will see you there.” 

 

“I guess that just leaves us,” Jane says. “Dr. Banner, would you mind helping Darcy and—” 

 

“Ian,” the young man supplies. 

 

“—Ian set the spikes?”  

 

“Call me Bruce,” he says. “And I’d be happy to.” 

 

“We can get it done that much faster with Dr. Banner helping,” Darcy says brightly. 

 

Bruce takes two of the spikes once they reach Greenwich, knowing exactly where they need to go. They have to place them around the park and hopefully dodge the wormholes that are going to spit them out somewhere else entirely. 

 

He gets the first spike in the ground, but he can tell that the laws of gravity are deteriorating in a big way. Birds fly in strange patterns, people appear and disappear, and then a huge ship winks into existence. 

 

The sharp point of the ship’s base drags through the water, and then slices into the ground, with no attempt to pull up that Bruce can see, and certainly no thought to the damage it’s causing. 

 

Bruce quickly hammers the last spike into the ground and looks around for Darcy and Ian, but he doesn’t see them. He hopes they made it to safety. 

 

Tony lands next to him. “Better get under cover, Big Guy. If you stay out here, chances are you won’t be able to refrain from doing that thing you do.” 

 

Bruce doesn’t want to leave Tony out here without backup, but then Thor lands next to Tony. “I will look after him, Dr. Banner, and will endeavor to keep him from coming to harm.” 

 

“I guess I’ll stay with Dr. Foster and Erik,” Bruce replies. “Be careful.” 

 

He jogs to the tower where Selvig and Jane are located and takes the stairs two at a time. “How are we doing?” 

 

“We’ve got about five minutes,” Jane says. “So, Thor and, um, Iron Man just have to keep him busy for six.” 

 

Bruce glances over her shoulder at the screen. “When this is all over, I’d love to have a conversation about the mechanics behind your equipment.” 

 

Jane glances at him, startled. “Yes, of course, that would be—that would be amazing.” 

 

“You two can geek out all over each other some other time,” Selvig says. “We’ve got trouble.” 

 

“Is it just me or do they look like evil elves?” Bruce asks as Jane turns a dial that disappears half a dozen of the creatures into a wormhole. 

 

“Pretty sure that’s exactly what they are,” Jane replies, cranking the dial back the other way. “Two more minutes.” 

 

Bruce looks out the window, and it really doesn’t look like Tony and Thor are having much luck out there. “Shit.” 

 

Jane glances out in time to see Malekith throw Thor through a wormhole, and he disappears. “We can’t just stay here.” 

 

“The gravitational spikes,” Selvig says. “They could be used as weapons.” 

 

“I don’t see Tony,” Bruce mutters, craning his neck to catch a glimpse of Tony, who flies back into view to hit Malekith from behind. Malekith responds by sending a wave of energy at Tony, black and red and malevolent. 

 

“We have to get the spikes,” Jane says, grabbing his arm. “Can you go out there? Is it safe?” 

 

Bruce looks out at the destruction, and says, “Right at this moment, I’m not sure the Other Guy could actually make things worse. Which is not something I thought I’d ever say.” 

 

“It’s a mess, but we should probably focus on saving the world right now,” Jane replies. “Bruce, can you get two of the spikes if I get the others?” 

 

“Sure,” Bruce replies, and tries to calm his mind. Maybe the Other Guy won’t make matters worse, but he’s also fairly certain that he’s not going to make it better either. 

 

Besides, the fewer people see the Other Guy, the better. It’s all well and good to see news footage, but it’s something else up close and personal. 

 

He’s grateful that he generally tries to stay fit, because otherwise this much running would have done him in. Bruce grabs one spike on a run then quickly pivots to grab the second one. 

 

Tony’s standing next to Thor, his armor scratched and dented, looking a little the worse for wear, but otherwise okay. “We can use these,” Jane says, holding her own spikes. “But we can’t get close.” 

 

“I can,” Thor replies, taking the spikes from her, and the two from Bruce. 

 

Bruce looks up at the sky, the holes—the tears in space—lining up almost perfectly now. It’s quite the sight, but it’s quickly being obscured by an inky darkness. 

 

Thor disappears into the cloud, and Jane watches him, clearly wishing she could follow. 

 

“Are you okay?” Bruce asks Tony. 

 

“Bumps and bruises.” Tony’s helmet folds back and he looks around. “Shit, what a mess.” 

 

“We may want to set up a fund, be proactive about responding to the inevitable complaints about an alien menace and what the Avengers are prepared to do about it,” Bruce says. 

 

Tony snorts. “We’re here, aren’t we? I’d call that pretty damn proactive.” 

 

“Thor!” Jane shouts, and Bruce turns to see Thor on the ground, unmoving. She starts to run towards him, but Bruce holds her back, seeing that the ship is beginning to topple over. 

 

Bruce glances at her. “We’ll get him.” 

 

Tony’s helmet comes down over his face, and he flies to Thor’s side. Thor still isn’t moving and Bruce runs over to help him. 

 

“Pretty sure this guy weighs more than he’s supposed to,” Tony grunts, grabbing him by the shoulders. “Get his feet.” 

 

Bruce glances up at the toppling ship, he says, “I’m not sure we have time for this, Tony.” 

 

“It’s either this or you transform, and I don’t think we want that,” Tony replies. “Not when there aren’t any more bad guys to smash.” 

 

Bruce grunts as he picks up Thor’s feet and they haul his dead weight away from the falling ship. Bruce is fairly certain that he’ll transform before anything can hit them, but when he glances over his shoulder, he sees the faint shimmer that signifies the presence of a wormhole, and the ship disappears. 

 

“Oh, thank god,” Tony mutters, and puts Thor down. “Bruce?” 

 

“I’m good,” Bruce says and watches as Jane runs over and kneels next to Thor. “He’s going to be okay,” Bruce promises. “I mean, he survived a drop from 30,000 feet. An evil elf doesn’t even register.” 

 

Jane laughs, sounding a little hysterical. “Right. Thanks.” 

 

“Any time,” Tony says. “Also, have you ever given any consideration to relocating to New York?” 

 

She blinks. “New York?” 

 

“Stark Industries, ten floors of R&D, you’ll love it,” Tony replies. “Plus, you’d get a chance to work with Bruce here.” 

 

Thor starts to come around, and Tony says, “Think about it.” 

 

They beat a strategic retreat to allow Thor and Jane to reunite. Crowds are beginning to gather, and Bruce looks around at all the pieces of the alien ship and tech. “We don’t want these folks to get their hands on anything alien,” he says in a low voice. 

 

“Good point,” Tony says, and raises his voice. “All right, everybody get back! Important Avengers business, and the site hasn’t been cleared for the public yet.” 

 

Pretty much everybody takes a few steps back, but Bruce knows that’s not going to hold them off for long. 

 

And then he spots the black SUVs. “Looks like we’ve got company.” 

 

“About time they sent in help,” Tony replies as a familiar figure steps out of one of the SUVs. “And look who Fury’s not pretending is dead anymore.” 

 

Bruce takes a deep breath, feeling a lot better with Coulson on site. “I guess now is the time to get started on the clean up.” 

 

 

Jennifer hears the news about London while she’s with Steve, planning out how they’re going to tackle placing the bug in the Triskelion. They’ve considered and discarded the idea that Steve could place it himself. Everybody seems to track Steve when he’s in a room, and someone needs to provide a distraction. 

 

Steve calls her early in the morning and says, “There’s been an attempted alien invasion of London, and Bruce and Tony were involved. Do you have court today?” 

 

“Yes, I do,” Jennifer replies, glancing at the clock. It’s early, not yet seven, and court begins at nine. “I’ll be done about 4 or 4:30, or I might be able to get a continuance if you think it’s necessary.” 

 

“No, that should work fine,” Steve replies. “It makes sense that you’d come to the Triskelion for answers since the phone lines are busy, and Bruce is involved. Text me when you’re done, and I’ll meet you at HQ.” 

 

Jennifer shoots a quick text to Bruce, hoping that he gets back to her in time for one of her breaks and she doesn’t actually have to go to SHIELD for _all_ the answers. 

 

Once again, she has to put aside the distraction to focus on the case, although she’s rested and it’s the defense’s turn to put on witnesses. 

 

Not that it excuses her from staying focused. In some ways, she has to pay even more attention because she has to be prepared for cross-examination, and so she has to be aware of what is said and _how_ it’s said.  

 

She pushes everything out of her mind other than the trial, jotting notes as they come to her, and is grateful when the testimony of the primary defendant takes up most of the day. It’s four o’clock, and the judge calls a recess since there’s not really enough time to get into cross. 

 

Jennifer texts Steve as soon as the bailiff dismisses them and Jennifer confers with her clients. They’ve got a full slate the next morning, and for the rest of the week, and she needs to be ready, even if she’s got another full day ahead of her. 

 

She changes out of her heels into flats, and pulls off her suit jacket, and then heads straight to SHIELD headquarters. 

 

Steve wears jeans and a t-shirt with a leather jacket, much like the last time Jennifer had seen him, and he drapes an arm over her shoulder as Jennifer approaches. “Thanks for meeting me here.” 

 

“No problem,” Jennifer replies. “Thanks for making time to see me.” 

 

They’ve talked about this, and their best bet is to act as though they’re always being watched, as though someone is always listening. 

 

“I had the time,” Steve replies. “I’m between missions. Although not for lack of trying, considering what’s going on in London. Did you see the news?” 

 

“I checked it out in the taxi on the way here,” Jennifer replies. “I got a text from Bruce saying they’re safe, but that’s about it.” 

 

Steve nods. “I haven’t heard anything else either. Come on, I told Fury we were coming, and he promised to have an update for you.” 

 

“Great,” Jennifer replies. “Thanks.” She means it, because she hadn’t got much information out of Bruce and she likes Steve. The more time she spends with him, the more she likes him, although as a friend only. She gets the feeling that Steve needs a serious relationship, and she doesn’t have the time or the inclination for that at this stage of her career. 

 

Honestly, at this point in her life, having no idea how her altered genetics would affect her kids, she’s not sure she’s even on board with the American ideal of a husband and 2.5 kids. Then again, maybe Steve feels the same way, and if he ever decides he’s into some no-strings-attached sex, Jennifer would definitely be on board. 

 

Steve drops his arm once they get to security, and they give her a visitor’s badge. Steve takes her hand once they get that far, and Jennifer feels him press the bug into her hand. No one takes too close of a look at Steve, so he’d been the one to bring the bug into headquarters. 

 

He gives her hand an extra squeeze before he lets go, and Jennifer smiles. “Here we go,” Steve murmurs. 

 

Jennifer follows him through the halls of the Triskelion—a name that’s pretentious as hell, in her opinion, even if no one had asked. 

 

“If you’ll wait here,” a woman says, and she’s wearing a suit rather than any kind of field uniform.  

 

Jennifer can’t quite believe it, but they’re left in a room that’s wall-to-wall with people at computers. Steve shakes his head subtly, and she doesn’t make a move towards them. 

 

And then, miracle of miracles, they’re shown into Fury’s inner sanctum. All Jennifer needs is enough of a distraction to place the bug on Fury’s computer. 

 

Steve glances at her, and she can see that Steve knows that she’s going to need a distraction as well. 

 

“Wait here,” the woman tells them, and Jennifer feels like it has to be a trap. Steve glances up at a camera in the corner, and Jennifer shakes her head. It can’t be that easy, and she’s not willing to trust it. 

 

Besides, this is Fury’s office, which means he probably sweeps for bugs at least daily if not more often. 

 

Steve hitches a shoulder in tacit agreement, and says, “Fury would probably let me give you a tour of the Triskelion if you were interested.” 

 

Jennifer smiles brightly. “That would be great! Did you know that Agent Coulson made me a job offer when I first met him? I’m still keeping it in my back pocket, just in case.” 

 

“Give up law for this?” Steve asks. 

 

Jennifer shrugs. “Well, I doubt I’d ever give up being a lawyer, but I might use my legal acumen to help SHIELD, if I thought it was the right thing to do.” 

 

Fury sweeps in towards the end of that statement, and says, “And the job offer stands as long as I’m director. Of course, I’m not sure your cousin or Mr. Stark would appreciate that fact. I imagine you have a standing offer from Stark Industries, too.” 

 

Jennifer smiles sweetly. “It never hurts to keep your options open.” 

 

“Indeed, which is why I wish Dr. Banner and Mr. Stark had run their involvement through me so that I could be prepared,” Fury replies. “Did either of you know anything about this?” 

 

Jennifer hesitates. “Bruce and I had an argument, so we weren’t exactly speaking when he took off to London.” 

 

Fury perches on the edge of the desk and raises an eyebrow. “I didn’t think you two ever fought.” 

 

“We’re family,” Jennifer says. “Just because we’re close doesn’t mean we never disagree.” 

 

There are times when she really hates Fury, because he smirks knowingly. “About your afterhours activities?” 

 

“That’s between Bruce and me,” Jennifer says evenly, employing her poker face. “Family matters. You know.” 

 

Fury nods. “All right. Then I can tell you that Thor is in London, and Dr. Banner and Mr. Stark are both in one piece. I sent Agent Coulson’s team in to assist with clean up.” 

 

“How much damage was done?” Steve asks. 

 

“Enough,” Fury says darkly. “The good news is that Dr. Banner wasn’t responsible for any of it, and Iron Man was seen protecting people. It’s all good press for them, and Thor didn’t start this fight, at least not on this planet.” 

 

“Small favors,” Steve replies. 

 

“In this case, miniscule,” Fury says. “But at least they stopped the world from ending.” 

 

“Is there anything we can do?” Steve asks. 

 

Fury shakes his head. “No, not at this time. I’d rather both of you stay off the radar while we figure out how to deal with the situation.” 

 

Jennifer knows that comment is directed at her, and she can’t deny that staying off the radar is a good thing right now. “I promise, I’ll be good.” 

 

“See that you are, Ms. Walters,” Fury replies. “While I can’t keep you from using your abilities, I’d ask that you exercise caution. Not everyone believes that people like the Avengers ought to be left alone.” 

 

That’s basically what Bruce said, and Jennifer sighs. “I realize that.” 

 

“Then keep a lid on it until the news from this dies down,” Fury replies. “Other than that, I don’t have anything for you.” 

 

Steve nods. “Do you mind if I give Jennifer a tour? I kind of promised I would.” 

 

Fury’s expression doesn’t change at all, so Jennifer can’t tell if he’s suspicious, but he says, “Of course not. Give her the grand tour.” 

 

“Thanks,” Steve replies. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help out with the thing in London.” 

 

Jennifer is learning, so she doesn’t ask Steve if he thinks Fury suspects anything. Instead, she follows him around headquarters, including the analysis labs. “And this is where all the smart people are,” Steve says. “The data comes through here for the analysts to look over before they issue recommendations about fieldwork.” 

 

They pass right by one of the computers, and Jennifer lets her hand brush up against one of them in a casual gesture, leaving the bug behind. Steve puts an arm around her waist to hide the motion, and Jennifer glances up at him with a smile. “This is really great. I love seeing where you work.” 

 

It’s slightly forced, but Jennifer has told bigger lies to men she’s dated, and while she might have ulterior motives now, at least Steve knows everything. 

 

“It’s pretty boring most of the time,” Steve replies. “Unless there’s a mission, and then things get interesting quickly. Are you hungry? I know you probably didn’t have time to grab dinner.” 

 

Jennifer’s stomach growls. “I would kill for a burger right now.” 

 

“That’s easy enough,” Steve says. 

 

He has a favorite diner, which is where he takes her, and Jennifer wonders if the place reminds him of the time he’d left behind after being frozen in the ice. 

 

Over the last few weeks, she’s learned he’s a decent man who still feels out of place, like he’s missing huge amounts of information, and doesn’t quite know how to connect with anybody. Being famous doesn’t help matters any. 

 

“I mean, it’s different with you guys,” Steve says around bites of his burger. “With the Avengers, we’ve been in the foxhole together, so to speak. I know who you are, and I can trust you. I might not know everything, but I know the important things.” 

 

Jennifer munches on a fry. “But you go on missions with other SHIELD agents. That’s a foxhole of its own, isn’t it?” 

 

“Not the same thing,” Steve argues. “Yeah, I go on missions with other agents, but I’m there to do my job, and that’s usually a job someone else _can’t_ do. Natasha gets it, but the other agents aren’t specialists like her and Clint.” 

 

“You were with a unit of specialists, weren’t you?” Jennifer asks. “Behind enemy lines for the most part, with only the other Howling Commandos for company.” 

 

Steve nods. “Just a few guys, with occasional contact with Peggy and HQ. After—after Buck died…” He pauses. “Well. It was different.” 

 

Jennifer digests that for a moment, taking another bite of her cheeseburger. “I was pretty young when Bruce came to live with us. I don’t know how much you know about his childhood, but it wasn’t pretty.” 

 

“I’ve read his file,” Steve admits. 

 

“He wasn’t just my cousin,” Jennifer says. “He was the best big brother ever. He protected me, encouraged me when my dad was a dick, and was just generally decent. Mom died a couple of years before he disappeared, so he was the only family left. Even before that, though, we were a unit of two. We always had been.” 

 

Steve smiles at her. “Bruce will forgive you. He seems like a pretty forgiving sort if you leave out the Other Guy.” 

 

“He is, and we’re family, and we’ll be fine,” Jennifer replies. “I’m just saying—he’s not a bad guy to have in the foxhole with you, and neither is Tony. And if I can toot my own horn, neither am I. I know it seems like you’ve lost a lot, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find other people to share a life with.” 

 

Steve glances down. “It’s hard sometimes, not to look around and see everything I’ve missed, or everything I’ve lost out on.” 

 

“Maybe you should start keeping a list,” Jennifer suggests between bites. “All the things that you’ve never tried, that you missed out on, but you want to check out. Focus on all the new experiences you’ll get to have.” 

 

Steve smiles sweetly. “That’s good advice.” 

 

Jennifer reaches into her purse and pulls out a small notepad. She rips out her own notes and tucks them back in her purse, and then asks, “Okay, first thing?” 

 

Steve looks surprised. “Wait, what?” 

 

“First thing,” Jennifer replies. “And if you can’t think of anything, I can come up with a few things to start.” 

 

“I don’t know,” Steve replies. “You kind of put me on the spot.” 

 

“ _Die Hard_ ,” Jennifer says. “It’s a classic movie about a badass, and you should see it. In fact, it’s basically a Christmas movie, so this is definitely the season.”  

 

Steve frowns. “How is it a Christmas movie?” 

 

“You’ll see,” Jennifer promises. “What else?” 

 

Steve says, “Well, the food has gotten a lot better, so food?” 

 

“Oh, and music!” Jennifer replies. “Also, television shows. This list is going to be _epic_.” 

 

Steve reaches across the table to put a hand over hers. “Thanks.” 

 

“Thank you for helping me keep my promise,” Jennifer replies. “And it’s my pleasure.” 

 

Steve hesitates. “Friends?” 

 

“Definitely,” Jennifer replies. 

 

She might not be up for much more than friends, but she likes Steve a lot, and he’s a good guy. And god help her, she’s a sucker for lost souls. 

 

If Steve needs a friend to crawl into that foxhole with him, she’ll be the first to volunteer. 

 

 

Pepper takes the call as soon as she finds out Matty is on the other end of the line, and he says, “I’ll take the job. You’re going to want me to start right away.” 

 

“You’re right about that,” Pepper replies. 

 

“My question is whether you want me to handle any press with the rest of the Avengers,” Matty replies. “Because while I know that they probably have their own resources, they’re adjacent to Bruce and Tony.” 

 

Pepper hesitates. “Don’t worry about them just yet. It may come to that eventually, but we’ll let the very secret government agency neither of us are supposed to know about handle that piece.” 

 

“Agreed,” Matty says. “Do they know you’re hiring me?” 

 

“I mentioned it to Bruce in passing,” Pepper admits. “His exact words were ‘oh, thank god, one less thing to worry about.’” 

 

Matty laughs. “I can work with that. What about Mr. Stark?” 

 

“He’s used to dealing with PR people,” Pepper replies. “And Bruce will talk him around.” 

 

“I should probably be on the next flight out to London unless they’re coming back in the next day or two,” Matty replies.  

 

Pepper checks the email Tony sent. “They’ll be back in New York tomorrow.” 

 

“All right, I’ll stay here and start damage control,” Matty replies. “I’d like to meet with them when they have time.” 

 

“I’ll put something on their calendars,” Pepper promises. “But Matty, thank you.” 

 

Matty sighs. “I’m sure London is just the first of many instances where they’re going to need a bit of spin. At least neither of them contributed to the property damage, at least not that’s being reported.” 

 

“It was pretty much all the bad guys and Thor,” Pepper confirms. 

 

“Which is why I asked if I should run interference with the Avengers,” Matty replies. “Not that I have to worry too much about Thor, since pretty much everyone is still enamored with his arms.” 

 

“That’s something,” Pepper replies. “Keep me informed.” 

 

He laughs. “No offense, Pepper, but you’re not my client. If what I’m doing reflects on Stark Industries, you’ll be the first to know. Otherwise, I’ll be talking to Dr. Banner and Mr. Stark.” 

 

“I’ll send you their phone numbers,” Pepper replies with a smile. “I’d start with Dr. Banner, and I’ll let him know you’re on board.” 

 

“Pleasure doing business with you, Ms. Potts,” Matty says. “And thank you for the opportunity.” 

 

“Likewise,” Pepper replies, and immediately calls Bruce. 

 

After a couple of rings, Bruce picks up with a curt, “Banner.” 

 

“Bruce, your PR person wants to see you when you’re both back in town. I’ve put it on your calendar.” 

 

Bruce breathes out audibly. “Great. Is he any good?” 

 

“He’s excellent, he has a much younger brother who had a well publicized suicide attempt after being bullied for being gay, and he believes in the work you two are doing,” Pepper replies. “I think he’s going to be excellent.” 

 

“Then I’ll happily meet with him as soon as I’m back in New York,” Bruce replies. “I make no promises on Tony’s behalf.” 

 

“As long as you’re okay with it, I think Matty can work with that,” Pepper replies. 

 

“I won’t say it’s not a relief,” Bruce replies. “There was a lot of damage, and while we’re not going to get too much flack for it, considering that the story is that the aliens started it and the Avengers finished it, that won’t always be the case.” 

 

“How are you?” Pepper asks. “I hadn’t heard that you needed to transform.” 

 

“No, the Other Guy wasn’t involved, thank goodness,” Bruce says. “I’ve got some pretty interesting data that will likely give me a few sleepless nights while I figure out how it changes our perceptions of the universe, but that’s par for the course.” 

 

Pepper hesitates. “You know there are rumors that you two are going to be on the shortlist for Nobel Prize laureates in physics, right?” 

 

“Rumors are just that,” Bruce says firmly. “Even if we are nominated, which we won’t know for sure until next spring, that doesn’t mean anything.” 

 

“It means that people are taking your project seriously, Bruce,” Pepper says. “They’re saying that you might be on the shortlist for the Peace Prize, too.” 

 

Bruce is silent for a long moment. “Are you kidding me?” he asks. 

 

“There’s buzz about it,” Pepper replies. “With the Expo, Navarro, the arc reactor—” 

 

“There’s also Tony’s history, the Other Guy, and the unfortunate reality that neither of us can afford to be men of peace,” Bruce replies. “And for the record, I’d probably refuse the nomination.” 

 

Pepper had some idea that he would say that, which is why she’d brought it up now. Her sources say it’s unlikely that Bruce and Tony would make it to the Peace Prize shortlist this year, but that if their efforts in clean energy pay off, and if they are able to continue their work, that could change in years to come. 

 

If she brings it up now, Bruce will have time to wrap his brain around the idea even if it happens a few years—or a few decades—down the road. 

 

Pepper has come to know Bruce rather well, and she knows he likes the lead-time.  

 

“Are you still coming back tomorrow?” Pepper asks. 

 

“SHIELD definitely wants us gone, and it’s not worth the fight. Agent Coulson knows what he’s doing, and we trust him more than most people,” Bruce says. “Although Tony is a little disappointed, since he can’t pull one over on Coulson like he might be able to with another agent.” 

 

“That sounds like Tony,” Pepper replies, amused. “How is Phil?” 

 

“He’s fine,” Bruce replies. “You could always find an excuse to fly over.” 

 

“I could,” she says, “and then there’s every chance he’ll be called away before I arrive, or shortly after I arrive. We’ll see each other again when we can.” 

 

“Let me know if there’s anything else I can do,” Bruce replies, and Pepper understands that he’s discreetly offering to serve as her wingman should circumstances require it. 

 

Pepper smiles. “Thanks, I’ll let you know, and I’ll see you soon.” 

 

“Sounds good,” Bruce replies. 

 

Pepper hangs up the phone with him and calls Phil. “So, how’s London?” 

 

“How do you—was it Bruce or Tony?” Phil asks, sounding exasperated.  

 

Pepper smiles. She likes keeping Phil on his toes. “Bruce, and you know we talk.” 

 

“Well, he did see me, so that makes me feel a little better,” Phil replies. “I know Fury’s worried about a leak.” 

 

 _So is everybody with half a brain who is remotely connected with the Avengers_ , Pepper thinks. “There’s no leak on our side of things,” she says diplomatically. 

 

Phil sighs. “That would make my life easier, but I’m not surprised. But yes, I’m in London, although probably not for very much longer, since we already have word on a disturbance in Norway.” 

 

“Good luck,” Pepper replies. “Let me know next time you’re in the States, and maybe I can meet you.” 

 

“I’d like that.” She can hear Phil’s smile in his voice, and while she might wish that their paths crossed more often, she’s busy enough that she knows an actual relationship is probably not in the cards. “Be careful, Phil.” 

 

“You too,” he says. 

 

Pepper hangs up and then takes a long, deep breath. Bruce and Tony are in good hands with Matty, and he’ll make sure the press sees them in the proper light. Pepper can’t do anything to help Phil at the moment, and she has a company to run. 

 

For now, she needs to focus on that. 

 

 

“I just don’t see why we need a PR guy,” Tony complains on the flight back to New York. “We’re doing fine! I haven’t made an ass out of myself in months!” 

 

Bruce sighs. “We need a PR guy because a) Pepper says we need one, and she’s smart about this kind of thing, and b) so we never have to deal with the press again unless we want to.” 

 

Tony clearly hasn’t thought about that side of things, and he frowns thoughtfully. “I like this plan.” 

 

“I thought you might,” Bruce says, clearly amused. “If we like him, we can have him handle press conferences, announcements, and maybe even Avengers’ business. We could have dealt with the aftermath of Manhattan better.” 

 

Tony grimaces. “There were extenuating circumstances.” 

 

“Yes, and those extenuating circumstances wouldn’t have applied to our PR guy,” Bruce points out. “He would have been in a position to spin everything our way, and we both know how powerful public perception is.” 

 

Tony has to admit that he can see Bruce’s point. They might have been well served to have someone around to spin the story in their favor, to get everybody to look at the lives saved instead of the property damage caused. 

 

“I’m willing to give him a trial run,” Tony says. “If I hate him, he’s gone.” 

 

Bruce gives him a look. “Agreed, but if it’s a mild dislike, my opinion carries the day, because we both know that you can handle the press, and if anybody needs the spin, it’s the Other Guy.” 

 

Tony has to agree. If Tony doesn’t like someone, nothing happens. If _Bruce_ doesn’t like someone, the Other Guy may come into play. And it’s entirely true Tony dislikes a lot more people than Bruce does, and sometimes for not very great reasons. 

 

“I will take a meeting with him,” Tony agrees. “If he’s good, and you like him, we’ll keep him. If I don’t like him, I’m going to make you deal with him.” 

 

Bruce shrugs. “No problem. We’re meeting with him when we get back.” 

 

“Have you talked to Jennifer yet?” Tony asks, stretching his legs out and putting his feet up on the armrest of Bruce’s chair. 

 

Bruce sighs audibly. “No, because I want to talk to her in person. I did, however, get her message that ‘the eagle had landed,’ which I figures meant she managed to plant the bug you gave her.” 

 

“You know the longer you let this go on, the worse you’re both going to feel,” Tony points out. “She’s your family. She might have said some shitty things, but haven’t we all?” 

 

“I know,” Bruce replies. “Which is why I want to talk to her in person. Over the phone just doesn’t have the same weight when you’re trying to apologize for the things you said, or when you wish you’d approached things differently.” 

 

Tony gives him a look, drops his feet, and leans forward to put his hands on Bruce’s knees. “You think you were out of line confronting her? Bruce, she needs to be careful. We all do. We both agree on that.” 

 

“But I get it,” Bruce argues. “I can’t let go, but she can, and I can only imagine how good it feels. I never should have been the one to confront her, because there was always going to be some jealousy and probably some misunderstanding.” 

 

Tony shakes Bruce’s legs. “Hey, stop that. Jen made her own decisions, and whether she was thinking or not, she put herself and the rest of us at risk. You’re her cousin, the person she probably loves most in the world. It made sense for you to try talking to her first.” 

 

“She didn’t listen to me, though,” Bruce says. 

 

“Well, you’re also her big brother, so sometimes she’s _not_ going to listen to you, which is why you call for backup when you need it,” Tony replies. “At this point, I’ve read her the riot act, the bug is in place, and we’re moving on to a new chapter in our lives.” 

 

Bruce sighs. “Another reason to have a PR guy on call. We’re probably going to need to fill him in on Jennifer’s late-night activities, just in case.” 

 

“Agreed,” Tony says. “And if you need someone there when you talk to Jen, I’m available.” 

 

“I’ll be fine,” Bruce says. “I just need to see to her.” 

 

Tony wishes he could make this easier on Bruce, and he wraps a hand around the back of Bruce’s neck and brings their foreheads together to touch. “You’re going to be fine. So is Jen.” 

 

“I know,” Bruce replies. “So we’re agreed?” 

 

“Definitely,” Tony says, willing to do just about anything to make Bruce feel better. 

 

They land at La Guardia, and Dominique has the car waiting for them. “Welcome back,” she says with a smile. “I hear you made quite the splash in London.” 

 

“For once, that wasn’t us,” Tony replies. “It was all Thor and his ilk.” 

 

“Is he as hot in person as he is on TV?” she asks with a grin. 

 

Bruce is completely deadpan when he replies, “He’s not my type.” 

 

Dominique gives Tony a very obvious look. “I suppose not.” 

 

“To answer your question, he’s hotter,” Tony says. “And very taken.” 

 

Dominique shrugs. “All the good ones are. Do you think he’d be willing to give my kids an autograph?” 

 

“Once we get done explaining what that is,” Tony replies cheerfully. “Sure.” 

 

“Always a pleasure, Mr. Stark,” she says. 

 

Pepper waits for them in the Penthouse when they arrive, reading something on her Stark pad, although she looks up with a smile when they enter. “I know you two are probably tired, but I set up your meeting with Matty for an hour from now. He’s going to want to get started on the information from London.” 

 

“The spin should be pretty good,” Tony replies, dropping his bag by the couch and sitting down across from Pepper. 

 

“I’ll put this stuff away,” Bruce says. “Good to see you again, Pep.” 

 

“I’m glad you’re in one piece,” Pepper replies. She waits until he’s out of the room before asking, “How is he doing?” 

 

Tony raises an eyebrow. “How did you know?” 

 

“I didn’t, but I do now,” Pepper replies. “I suspected that something might be up when you two left for London without a moment’s notice. That’s not like Bruce.” 

 

“Bruce and Jennifer had a bit of a tiff, and he wanted to get out of town for a bit,” Tony replies. “They’ll work it out eventually.” 

 

Pepper nods. “I wondered if it wasn’t something like that.” At the expression on Tony’s face, she says, “I do read the papers, Tony.” 

 

Tony somehow isn’t too surprised. Pepper is at the center of things, and she knows all of them well. He’s pretty sure that if anybody could put the pieces together it would be Pepper. “So, this PR guy?” 

 

“He’s young, smart, and he was the first journalist to give you a break after you stopped making weapons,” Pepper says. “He’s never written anything about your relationship with Bruce, outside your business partnership, and he’s a huge fan of your work in Navarro.” 

 

Tony hums thoughtfully. “What’s the catch? Because he sounds too good to be true.” 

 

“I’ve had him thoroughly vetted, and there is no catch, other than a few youthful indiscretions that weren’t illegal or immoral, except for in a few states,” Pepper replies. “He’s squeaky clean.” 

 

“Our new PR guy?” Bruce asks, emerging from the bedroom. “Good to know.” 

 

Pepper gives Bruce a warm smile. “You know I’ll do whatever I can to make sure you both are protected.” 

 

Bruce plops down next to Tony. “You’re the CEO of Stark Industries, Pepper. You don’t have to do that anymore.” 

 

“And yet I’m still your friend, and so I do,” Pepper counters. “And you wouldn’t have known the first place to start looking.” 

 

“True,” Bruce agrees. 

 

Pepper shakes her head. “You both need an assistant. Have you made any serious attempts at finding one?” 

 

Bruce sighs. “Oddly enough, HR hasn’t been able to dig up any potential candidates. I’m pretty sure they’re freaked out about the Other Guy.” 

 

“And Tony?” Pepper asks. 

 

“I have Jarvis,” Tony replies. “I don’t need another assistant.” 

 

“I’ll see what I can do,” Pepper replies. “Now, we have some additional business to talk about. I have contracts to discuss.” 

 

Tony realizes that she’s very neatly trapped them, which is annoying, because he’d planned on letting Bruce fuck him. Now, it’s going to have to wait until after they get through this thing with Pepper, then the interview with the new PR guy, and by then, Bruce will have had time to think about things, and he’ll want to contact Jen. 

 

Which means sex is at least _hours_ away, if not more. 

 

He doesn’t have a legitimate reason to say no, though—other than sex, which is completely legit, but not an excuse Pepper will accept in this situation. 

 

They get through most of the work Pepper brought before Jarvis announces that there’s a Matthew Taylor downstairs at reception. 

 

“That’s him,” Pepper confirms. 

 

“Tell security to send him up, J,” Tony says. 

 

The man who steps off the elevator is in his early thirties, with dark hair and blue eyes. He has strong features, and while Tony wouldn’t call him attractive, per se, there’s a certain energy about him.  

 

“Good to see you again, Pepper,” he says. 

 

“You too, Matty,” she replies. “Bruce, Tony, this is Matty Taylor.” 

 

Bruce stands and holds out a hand to him. “Call me Bruce.” 

 

Matty’s smile is warm. “Bruce. Nice to meet you.” 

 

When it’s Tony’s turn, he says, “Call me Tony. Mr. Stark was my father.” 

 

“It’s a pleasure,” Matty replies. “It’s nice to meet the man who revolutionized clean energy.” 

 

“Bruce was in the cave with me, too,” Tony replies. “It’s both of us, always.” 

 

Matty smiles. “Then that makes my job a hell of a lot easier.” 

 

“Have a seat,” Bruce says. “We can talk.” 

 

“Let me tell you what I can do,” Matty says, taking a seat next to Pepper. “And then you two can decide if you’re going to let me do it.” 

 

Bruce nods. “Shoot.” 

 

“You two want Navarro to be a success.” Matty leans forward, his forearms on his thighs. “You want people to look at you and see two men trying to save the world, rather than a couple of weapons.” 

 

There’s a long pause, and Tony glances over at Bruce, seeing the muscle in his jaw tick. “That’s right,” Tony says evenly. 

 

“I can do everything in my power to ensure that the first thing that the press talks about when they invoke your names, is clean energy and not the names of your alter egos,” Matty says.  

 

Bruce frowns. “They know who we are. I mean, people don’t really talk about me being the Hulk, but everyone knows Tony is Iron Man.” 

 

Matty chuckles. “Bruce, they don’t talk about you being the Hulk because no one who sees you in person would believe it. They know about Tony being Iron Man because no one can get that press conference out of their heads.” 

 

“So, what’s your proposed solution?” Tony asks, honestly curious. 

 

“To get the press to talk about Iron Man and Hulk when they discuss the Avengers, and Dr. Banner and Mr. Stark when they talk about anything else,” Matty replies. “The people who understand the media the best are the ones who know how to feed them the language they want the stories to run with.” 

 

Bruce cocks an eyebrow. “And you know how to do that?” 

 

“I’m a member of the press,” Matty replies. 

 

“Doesn’t mean you’re any good on the other side of it,” Tony counters. 

 

The smile slips from Matty’s face for a moment, and then he says, “Then you probably haven’t seen my best work.” 

 

“Tony,” Bruce says quietly, putting a hand on Tony’s arm. “We saw the article he wrote about you after Afghanistan.” 

 

Tony frowns. “Yeah, we did, and it was a great article, but I don’t—” 

 

“ _Tony_.” Bruce’s voice is low and urgent, and Tony knows that voice. He shuts up. 

 

Matty smiles. “What Bruce isn’t saying is that I was the main person who spun my brother’s story. Or rather that I got the whole world to take another look at bullying LGBT youth, and how it can lead to suicide attempts or successes when a school ignores reports of students being assholes.” 

 

Tony doesn’t remember hearing about it, but then he has Jarvis curate news reports for him, with a focus on terrorism, anything having to do with SHIELD, the Avengers, or other people with powers, and technology. 

 

“How is your brother doing?” Bruce asks gently. 

 

Matty smiles. “Good. Thanks for asking.” 

 

“Tell him to come by the Tower sometime,” Tony says. “If he’s interested, we’ll give him a tour. Or Bruce will. To be honest, it’s probably all going to be Bruce.” 

 

Matty laughs outright. “I’m getting the impression that Bruce is the one with the actual people skills.” 

 

Tony grins, quick and sincere. “He is, it’s true.” 

 

“Tony has his moments,” Bruce says, and grabs Tony’s hand. 

 

Matty glances at their joined hands and says, “I can work with you, if you’re willing to work with me.” 

 

“It’s up to Bruce,” Tony says. “He’s the one with the instincts.” 

 

“I’m on board,” Bruce says. “I think you can help us, and we can probably help you.” 

 

Matty shakes his head. “No offense, but I’ve got things handled.” 

 

“I’m sure you do,” Bruce says soothingly. “But I have a vested interest in making sure that smart, scientifically inclined kids make it.” 

 

“You did your research,” Matty accuses. 

 

“I don’t let anybody close to my family that I don’t vet,” Bruce replies. “I’m sure you feel the same way.” 

 

Matty inclines his head. “Touché.” 

 

“Bruce is like the anti-spy,” Tony says. “He’s great.” 

 

“I’m getting that,” Matty says. “I think we can do great work together.” 

 

Bruce stands up and holds out a hand. “I agree.” 

 

Tony takes the opportunity offered. “Great, everything is done, we’re on board, you guys are great, and talk to you later. We’ll be in touch.” 

 

Matty smirks. “Talk to you soon.” 

 

“Have fun, you two,” Pepper replies with an identical smirk, and Tony suddenly understands why they get along so well. 

 

“Are you two certain that you’re not long, lost siblings?” Tony demands. 

 

Pepper laughs. “I’m sure. Good night, Tony.” 

 

Tony waits until they’re on the elevator, and then says, “So, I was thinking you could fuck me.” 

 

Bruce lets out a shocked laugh. “Give me a second to switch gears, Tony!” 

 

Tony glances up at the ceiling. “One. Okay, ready?” 

 

Bruce laughs. “I’m going to need a little more time than that.” 

 

“Maybe I can blow you until you’re ready, and then you can fuck me,” Tony suggests hopefully. 

 

“Were you thinking about that the entire time we were talking with Pepper and Matty?” Bruce asks. 

 

Tony smirks. “Oh, for far longer than that.” 

 

Bruce shakes his head, but replies, “I’m willing to be persuaded.” 

 

Tony rubs his hands together. “Great, because I am a master of persuasion.” 

 

“You’re a steamroller, is what you are,” Bruce says, but since he hauls Tony close for a kiss, he doesn’t seem to mind. 

 

 

Bruce knows he needs to talk to Jennifer, but as far as he knows she’s still in D.C. He’s not expecting for Jarvis to notify him that she’s in the building the day after they get back from London, although maybe he should have. It’s Saturday, after all, although Bruce tends to lose track of the days most of the time. 

 

He and Tony don’t exactly have a set work schedule, and they don’t take weekends off. They’ll take time here and there when they want to, when it suits them and their schedules, but that’s not dependent on the day of the week like it is for most people. 

 

So, Bruce doesn’t even realize it’s Saturday until Jennifer shows up. 

 

Bruce isn’t working on anything sensitive, so he tells Jarvis to send her to his lab, and says, “I’m going to need privacy for this, Jarvis. And if you could hold off on telling Tony she’s here, I’d appreciate it.” 

 

“I’m afraid Mr. Stark already knows,” Jarvis replies, sounding apologetic. “He said that he will keep his nose out of it unless you require his assistance or are in distress.” 

 

Bruce shakes his head. “And who decides if I’m showing distress?” 

 

“You, of course,” Jarvis says. “Although if either of you show signs of transforming, I am authorized to notify Mr. Stark immediately.” 

 

Bruce can’t argue with that protocol, since he put it into place himself. “Thanks. Leave the door unsecured, and when Jennifer arrives, obscure the windows.” 

 

“As you wish, Dr. Banner.” 

 

Jennifer appears in the doorway a few seconds later, looking abashed and hopeful in equal measure. Bruce waves her in, and the windows go opaque as soon as the door closes. “I hope that’s not a bad sign. And that I didn’t chase you off all the way to London.” 

 

“Strange phenomena took us to London,” Bruce replies. “We’ve been working hard, and we both needed the break. And no, it’s not a bad sign. I just thought we might want privacy for this discussion.” 

 

Jennifer laughs. “Some break, huh?” 

 

“Well, it was pretty interesting,” Bruce replies. “And we got to meet Dr. Jane Foster, who’s doing fascinating work in astrophysics.” 

 

“Right up your alley, then,” Jennifer says. “Bruce, I’m sorry.” 

 

Bruce breathes out. “You already said that, and I know you didn’t mean it, Jen. Not that way. While we’re similar on the surface, deep down, there are some major differences that neither of us have really run up against before.” 

 

Jennifer manages a smile. “But you were right that I wasn’t really thinking about it, and I wasn’t listening to you. Fury pointed out that I might be putting you and the others at risk, too.” 

 

Bruce is grateful that Jennifer is actually _thinking_ now. She’s great at strategizing in the courtroom, but crime fighting is a different story. “I don’t want you to stop doing good, Jen,” Bruce says. “If you come across a fight or an armed robbery, or some other situation where intervention is necessary, I hope you won’t hesitate, and we’ll deal with the consequences later.” 

 

“But maybe don’t go looking for trouble?” Jennifer suggests. 

 

“Now might not be the best time for that,” Bruce replies. “After London, people are going to be looking at those with special abilities pretty hard. We’ve got a PR guy that Pepper recommended, and I’d like you to talk to him, but folks are going to be asking a lot of questions about whether the Avengers are more trouble than they’re worth.” 

 

Jennifer takes a couple of steps closer. “Can I get a hug?” 

 

“Come here,” Bruce replies, and pulls her close. 

 

She clutches at him, pressing her face against his shoulder. “I really am sorry.” 

 

“So am I,” Bruce says. “We’re okay. We’re going to be fine.” 

 

“Are you busy today?” she asks. “If you are, it’s fine, but I thought maybe we could hit up a food truck or something.” 

 

Bruce pulls back. “Yeah, sure. London wasn’t exactly the break I was hoping for, and I wouldn’t mind getting out of the lab for a while.” 

 

He has too much work to do to take the afternoon off, but his relationship with Jennifer is important, too, and he hasn’t seen her much lately. 

 

Jennifer’s bright smile is all the recompense he needs, and if Bruce has to pull an all-nighter, he will. 

 

“Jarvis, let Tony know we’re going to Central Park for a while,” Bruce says. “Let me grab a coat. How’s the trial going?” 

 

Jennifer shrugs. “Pretty good, I think. It didn’t start out so great, but the other side hasn’t been able to mount much of a defense, and I expect it to wrap up next week.” 

 

“Do you expect to win?” Bruce asks. 

 

Jennifer holds her hand out and makes a so-so gesture. “It’s probably 60/40 right now. Sexual harassment cases are always difficult. I’d have preferred to settle, but since it’s against a government agency, there’s no way they were going to go for that option.” 

 

“If anyone could succeed, it’s you,” Bruce says. 

 

“I want to hear about London,” Jennifer says. “No offense, but I’ve been thinking about the trial all week, in between planting the bug and pretending to date Steve, so a subject change is in order.” 

 

Bruce blinks. “Whoa, wait, back up a bit.” 

 

Jennifer gives him her most innocent look. “What?” 

 

“What do you mean ‘pretending to date Steve?’” Bruce asks, although he knows she’s doing this for effect. 

 

There’s a twinkle in her eyes when she says, “Just that. We’re pretending to date.” 

 

Bruce glares at her. “Jen.” 

 

She laughs. “Oh, cuz, you’re too easy.” 

 

Bruce is not above getting a bit of revenge. “You know what? Don’t tell me, because you’re coming over for dinner tonight, and then I’ll let Tony get it out of you.” 

 

Jennifer glares at him. “You are evil.” 

 

“You _could_ tell me now,” Bruce muses. “And then I would have to mention it at dinner, and then Tony would _still_ get it out of you, and we’d be right back at square one. We could go over it twice, and it might be kind of amusing to watch you squirm, but—” 

 

“Stop!” Jennifer says, rolling her eyes. “Long story short, since I know Tony will want the long story because he’ll want to know about the bug, Steve and I are friends. He’s been really nice to me, and I think he’s lonely, but he doesn’t want to date. We go out to dinner, or to a movie, and he gave me a tour of the Triskelion, and I planted the bug.” 

 

Bruce smiles. “Are you having fun with him?” 

 

“I feel like it’s incumbent upon me to introduce him to pop culture,” Jennifer replies. “He’d never even seen _Die Hard_!” 

 

“You’re having fun,” Bruce replies. 

 

Jennifer smiles. “Yes, I’m having fun. He’s a good guy who got dealt a crappy hand, and he’s making the best of it. I get that. I think you do, too.” 

 

Bruce is quiet for a long moment. “I believe that he’s a very good man, and that my issues with him—and Tony’s—aren’t anything to do with him or who he is as a person.” 

 

“Maybe you should spend more time with him,” Jennifer suggests. “Maybe all of the Avengers should. We all went our separate ways, but clearly, shit still happens. Aliens tried to invade London.” 

 

“According to Thor, there were extenuating circumstances,” Bruce replies. “Although Thor is apparently sticking around on Earth for a while. I’ll see what Tony thinks about having a New Year’s party.” 

 

“And Christmas?” Jennifer asks. “It’s coming up.” 

 

“You don’t mind spending it at the Tower?” Bruce asks. “I thought us, Pepper, maybe Phil if he’s anywhere in the area.” 

 

Jennifer hesitates. “And Steve? Or Natasha? I don’t think they have anywhere to spend Christmas.” 

 

Bruce has always loved Jennifer’s big heart, and while he doesn’t particularly want to spend Christmas with the others, he feels like he ought to at least make a gesture. “We can invite them for Christmas Eve.” 

 

“That sounds great,” Jennifer replies. “Thanks. Oh, look! It’s that taco truck!” 

 

There’s a line, as there always is, but they wait for their tacos and find a bench to sit on, enjoying the sunshine and the cooler weather. Neither of them feels the temperature changes, except for the most extreme changes, and the sun is warm even if the air is cool. 

 

“God, I’ve missed these tacos,” Jennifer says happily as she starts in on her second taco. “I’m sure there’s a decent taco place in D.C., but I haven’t found it yet.” 

 

“You probably haven’t had time to look,” Bruce points out. 

 

“True,” Jennifer replies. “So, have you found anything with the bug yet?” 

 

Bruce shakes his head. “No, although we haven’t been able to give it much attention. Tony has set up various alerts that will ping us. It’s more passive than the last bug he planted.” 

 

“What’s the difference?” Jennifer asks between bites.  

 

Bruce hitches a shoulder. “The last bug was intended to find something particular. This one is an early warning system for us, in case we’re targeted.” 

 

“And if you are?” 

 

“We get an alert,” Bruce replies. “Anything that goes through SHIELD’s systems with our names attached, or any of the Avengers’ names, including yours, we’ll know. Jarvis will sort through most of the data, and he’ll store it. It’s going to take time to get deep into SHIELD’s computers, but we’ll get there.” 

 

Jennifer is quiet for a long moment. “You don’t think Steve or Natasha are involved, do you?” 

 

“No,” Bruce replies. “And we don’t think Fury is involved either. But that begs the question, if Fury doesn’t know about it, and yet it’s still going on under his nose, who can we trust?” 

 

“Scary thought,” Jennifer replies. “You have other protections in place, right?” 

 

“Of course,” Bruce says, although he doesn’t share what they are with her. “We’re on top of it.” 

 

He hopes that will be enough. 


	3. Chapter 3

Tony glances around the Penthouse with a feeling of pride. He always liked putting on a good party where people are having a good time. A good party, in Tony’s opinion, is one where all participants are enjoying themselves, and he hasn’t had many opportunities to do that since Afghanistan. 

 

Some of that had been because of Bruce, who doesn’t care for crowds, or large parties, and Tony hasn’t really felt the urge to throw a huge bash when he could be enjoying Bruce’s company, engaging in activities best done with just the two of them.  

 

But a new year means opportunities to turn over a new leaf, and Jennifer had planted the idea in Bruce head that they should at least try to make nice with the other Avengers. London had been a clear indication that the entire team might be needed again sooner rather than later, and there was the small matter of SHIELD. 

 

Tony can’t put his finger on why, but all of his instincts are screaming at him that there might come a day when they have to ditch SHIELD, and he’s already planning for what that looks like. 

 

Steve is sticking close to Jennifer, wearing a sharp suit, and not looking terribly anachronistic. Jennifer is working the crowd in a way that’s effortless. She can be as introverted as Bruce, but she works at a big New York firm, and she’s used to shindigs like this, so she can make the rounds and ease the way for Steve, who is earnest and sometimes awkward. 

 

Tony still doesn’t believe that there isn’t _something_ going on there, but Jennifer insists they’re just friends, and maybe they are.  

 

Matty is also working the crowd, although with a different purpose than Jennifer. He’s gauging attitudes, and what spin to put on the stories coming out of the Tower. Miriam, who had been invited on Matty’s recommendation, is resplendent in a dress that looks as though a hundred scarves had been sewn together, and regales a couple of city council members with tales of organic gardening and repelling rabbits. 

 

Thor and Jane are deep in conversation with Bruce and, surprisingly, Natasha, and Tony honestly has no idea what the four of them have in common, but they seem happy enough. Clint had declined to attend, citing family obligations—although Tony has no idea what family he has, and he hasn’t asked Jarvis to dig because Bruce said it was rude. 

 

As far as Tony can tell, everybody is having an excellent time, and there’s plenty of alcohol and food, and— 

 

There’s a boy in the corner of the room, playing with his phone desultorily. It’s not the newest model, but it’s not a bad one, although it has nothing on a Stark phone. He’s maybe sixteen—old enough that he wants to participate, young enough that he’s being ignored. 

 

Tony has never professed to be good with children, unless they can meet him at his level, but there’s something about the kid that has Tony drifting over. Maybe it’s because Tony can remember attending a hundred parties just like this one where he’d been an afterthought, brought along because his dad liked to remind people he had an heir, but where he hadn’t been wanted. 

 

“That’s a shit phone,” Tony says, plopping down in the chair adjacent to the one the boy is sitting in. “I could hack it in my sleep.” 

 

The kid holds it up to show Tony the screen. “Already did. Half the people on the planet hacked the phone, probably before you knew it was on the market.” 

 

“Of course they did,” Tony replies, not rising to the bait. “I have my own phone, which is not shit, which means I don’t have to resort to _hacking_ pieces of shit.” 

 

The sneer he receives in return is weak. “Yeah, must be hard being the wealthiest guy on the planet. Sucks to be you.” 

 

“Sometimes it does,” Tony says frankly. “Kind of sucked when I got kidnapped and had an electromagnet shoved in my chest.” 

 

The kid’s chin sticks out belligerently. “Sucks to get beat up at school and have the principal expel you for pointing out the weak points in their security system.” 

 

“I’ll have you know I got expelled from _two_ schools,” Tony replies. “Mostly for being smarter than my teachers.” 

 

A corner of the kid’s lips twitches. “Sucks to have your parents decide you’re not worth their time because they caught you kissing a guy.” 

 

“Okay, that I’ll grant you,” Tony replies, because he’s finally figured out who this kid is, and he’d done a thorough background on Matty Taylor. “I never came out to my parents, so they never got the chance to be total dicks about it.” 

 

The boy, Aaron, winces. “Point in your favor.” 

 

“So, are we done competing for whose life sucks most?” Tony asks. “Because I can keep this up all night.” 

 

“I’m still going to win,” Aaron says confidently. 

 

“And why is that?” 

 

“Because you’ve got a really hot, smart husband to come home to at the end of the day,” Aaron replies. 

 

Tony considers that for a moment. “Fair. Bruce does tend to make pretty much everything suck a lot less.” He holds out a hand. “Tony Stark. We haven’t been introduced.” 

 

“Aaron Taylor, but you already knew that,” he says.  

 

Tony shrugs. “I might have guessed. So, what are you doing being miserable at my very awesome party, instead of being out on the town with friends?” 

 

Aaron shrugs. “I just switched schools, and the kids at my old school were all assholes anyway. People look at me and see the kid who tried to off himself.” 

 

“So?” Tony counters. “Own it.” 

 

“What?” 

 

“Own it,” Tony replies. “You survived, you’re living with your older brother, who seems pretty cool. You can now say that you’re friends with one of the richest men on earth. If someone gives you grief, own it.” 

 

“That’s easy for you to say,” Aaron accuses.  

 

“A few years ago I was in a cave with a bunch of terrorists, with no idea if I’d live or die, with the guy who turned out to be my husband,” Tony counters.  

 

Aaron rolls his eyes in a way that only a teenager could manage. “So, it gets better?” 

 

“Sometimes,” Tony replies. “And sometimes it continues to suck. And then there are the times when you meet the love of your life in a hellhole. Speaking of, have you talked to anybody here?” 

 

“No one’s going to want to talk to me,” Aaron replies. 

 

Tony raises an eyebrow. “Don’t be a dick.” 

 

“What?” Aaron asks incredulously. “This coming from the self-proclaimed asshole?” 

 

“Nobody likes a dick except in the most literal sense,” Tony replies. “Come on, let’s go. Parties are for talking to people, and having a good time.” 

 

Aaron gives him a look. “I hate people.” 

 

“You hate _most_ people,” Tony corrects him. “As do I, as a matter of fact. I defy you to hate Bruce. _No one_ hates Bruce except for General Ross, and we’re suing him. Come on, let’s go.” 

 

Aaron gets to his feet, gangly and a little uncoordinated. “Why are you doing this?” 

 

“Because my professional reputation as the thrower of parties is at stake,” Tony says. “People have fun at my parties, and you were aggressively _not_ having fun. At me.” 

 

Aaron smiles unwillingly. “It wasn’t _at_ you. It was mostly at my brother. He’s worried about leaving me at home alone on a holiday.” 

 

Tony leads the way to where Bruce is sitting with Jane, Thor, and Natasha, and says, “Bruce, this is Matty’s little brother, Aaron.” 

 

Bruce is on his feet immediately. “Oh, hey, nice to meet you,” Bruce says immediately in that really disarming way he has. “We’ve heard great things.” 

 

“Um, yeah, you too,” Aaron says, his teenage sullenness wilting a bit under Bruce’s earnest welcome. 

 

“Have you met Thor?” Bruce asks. 

 

Aaron shakes his head, and Thor extends his own welcome in a very Thor-like way. “Well met, Aaron.” 

 

The kid now looks vaguely shell-shocked, and Tony thinks that half of his sulky attitude had come from wanting to approach people at the party and not knowing how. 

 

Bruce finishes the introductions with Natasha and Jane, and then says, “Have you been keeping up with the Navarro videos? I know Matty said you enjoyed watching them together.” 

 

Aaron blinks. “Uh, yeah, I mean. They’re cool.” 

 

“Did you want to meet Miriam?” Bruce asks. 

 

Aaron flushes deeply. “I wouldn’t want to bother her.” 

 

“Come on,” Bruce says gently, and Tony watches as he leads Aaron through the crowded room to Miriam. Miriam greets him with the same enthusiasm she shows to everybody, from the smallest child to the most important guy in the room, and then tucks her hand through Aaron’s arm. 

 

She might be the closest to his age, and Tony watches as she manages to pull him into the conversation she’s having with the city council members.  

 

“Good call,” Tony says when Bruce rejoins them and they sit down. “Miriam is an excellent example of how to talk to anybody. I wish I could bottle that energy and enthusiasm.” 

 

“You have plenty of that yourself,” Natasha counters. 

 

Tony shrugs. “But so much of the rest of the adult population does not, and they would pay good money.” 

 

“It was kind of you to speak to the boy,” Thor says. 

 

Tony snorts. “Please. He’s the only person here who wasn’t having a good time, or was at least aggressively not having a good time. I have one rule for my parties, and that’s that everybody enjoy themselves.” 

 

“I’m sure he wasn’t being sixteen _at_ you, Tony,” Bruce says with some amusement. 

 

Tony shrugs. “Whether he was or not, the situation is now rectified, and Miriam will take care of him. Good call on that, by the way.” 

 

“I remembered Matty saying something about watching her videos with Aaron,” Bruce replies. “So, are you two thinking about moving back here?” 

 

Tony quickly realizes that the question is directed at Thor and Jane, and Jane says, “We’re talking about it. It would make sense for Thor to be in New York, and Tony’s offer is tempting. Plus, I’ve got an offer from Cornell as a guest lecturer for a year.” 

 

“We can work around that,” Tony says. “I’ll take whatever time you’re willing to give me.” 

 

“I’ll take it into consideration,” Jane replies cagily. “I’m still keeping my options open. I wouldn’t be able to start until the fall, and I have a place in London to consider.” 

 

Tony opens his mouth to press her, and Bruce elbows him. “Well, we’d be sorry to lose the chance to work more closely with you, but you have to make the best decision you can,” Bruce says. 

 

“What about you, Natasha?” Tony asks. “Something new on the spy front?” 

 

“If I told you, I’d have to kill you,” Natasha replies pleasantly. 

 

Bruce gives Tony a look he can’t quite decipher. “We’ve already been over that, Tony. It’s New Year’s Eve, and shop talk is off the table.” 

 

Tony doesn’t argue, knowing that it’s entirely possible that Bruce got some information out of Natasha that Tony wouldn’t be able to manage to extract. 

 

The party winds down fairly quickly once the ball drops, and Tony steals a kiss from Bruce. He notices that Steve kisses Jennifer, and he wonders how long that “just friends” story is going to hold up for the two of them. 

 

Miriam kisses Aaron on the cheek, and Tony figures the kid will probably never lose that blush. 

 

It’s a good night, and when everybody is gone, Tony says, “This was a good idea.” 

 

“I was the one who said we should get to know our team better, but you were the one to come up with the idea of this party,” Bruce counters. 

 

“Maybe we should make a habit of it,” Tony suggests. “Big battle followed by big party?” 

 

Bruce frowns. “We didn’t have a big battle today.” 

 

“We survived another year, didn’t we?” Tony asks. “Good job with Matty’s brother, by the way.” 

 

“You were the one to pull him out of his funk,” Bruce replies. “You’re good with kids.” 

 

Tony snorts. “No, I’m good with intelligent kids, because I treat them the same way I’d treat anybody else. I’m pretty terrible with actual children.” 

 

Bruce smiles. “Jennifer and Steve are getting pretty cozy.” 

 

“I’m choosing not to think about it,” Tony insists. “If they say they’re just friends, I’m going to believe them.” 

 

“Probably for the best,” Bruce admits. “You ready for bed?” 

 

“Yeah, actually,” Tony says. 

 

“Did you check the data transfer?” 

 

“Same vague chatter,” Tony admits. “I can’t tell what they’re building towards, because they keep using code. If Jarvis wasn’t as sensitive as he is, the bug probably wouldn’t have picked up that much.” 

 

Bruce frowns. “But nothing more than that?” 

 

Tony shakes his head. “No, but I think it’s a widespread problem, and it’s more than just one person. It’s a concern.” 

 

“A big one,” Bruce says quietly. “Did you bug Fury’s car?” 

 

“It’s not technically a bug,” Tony argues. “You know that.” 

 

Bruce sighs. “I know that, but Fury would call an early warning system like this a bug.” 

 

“Fury doesn’t know anything about computers,” Tony replies. “But yes, if something happens to that car, we’re going to know.” 

 

“Most people don’t know a fraction of what you know about computers,” Bruce says. “Come on, let’s go to bed. Tomorrow is another day, and a busy one.” 

 

“After you, Big Guy,” Tony replies, his mind already going to all the things they have yet to do. 

 

 

Jennifer expects that after her case in D.C. wraps up, she won’t see or hear much from Steve. They had a good time when they went out together, and they’ve built a rapport, but there’s no real reason to stay in touch. Steve is going to keep working with SHIELD in D.C., and Jennifer is going back to her job in New York, and as much fun as they had, that’s not enough to build a lasting relationship. 

 

But then Steve gets sent to New York for SHIELD and Jennifer has another short negotiation in D.C., and they look each other up when they’re in town. They don’t just complete the things on Steve’s list, but try new things for both of them: museums, new restaurants, parks, whatever strikes their fancy that day. 

 

Jennifer likes trying new things, and to Steve everything is new, so he doesn’t mind exploring with her. 

 

At this point, it’s a habit to call Steve when she’s going to be in town, just like it’s habit for him as well. When he picks up, she says, “I’m going to be in D.C. for a few days, starting tomorrow. Are you free?” 

 

“I’m not sure,” Steve replies. “There’s a mission planned, but no determined date yet. Why don’t you come running with me?” 

 

“Are you going to keep your pace at something that humans can handle?” Jennifer asks, teasing him. The one time they’d tried running together before, Steve had left her behind without really meaning to do so. 

 

Steve hesitates. “At least for the first lap.” 

 

“Done,” Jennifer agrees.  

 

She checks in with Bruce before she leaves, just to make sure that there’s nothing going on that she needs to know about, but their intelligence is vague at the moment. She meets Steve for an early morning run before her meeting and she manages to keep up with him for exactly _one_ lap. 

 

Since that’s an improvement, Jennifer’s not going to be too hard on herself. 

 

On the second lap, Jennifer lets herself drop back to run next to the man they’d passed on the first round, and that Steve will probably pass again multiple times. “Don’t worry,” she says. “I’m pretty sure only Thor could keep up with him, and he’s at least nominally a demigod.” 

 

“I recognized him the first time around,” the man says. “I figure he’s either being an asshole or being polite.” 

 

Jennifer huffs a laugh. “Polite. I’m not sure he has an asshole bone in his body, and I should know.” 

 

They jog along in companionable silence until Steve passes them once again, with a cheery, “On your left.” 

 

“Are you _sure_ he’s not an asshole?” the man asks. 

 

Jennifer laughs. “Pretty sure. I’m Jennifer, by the way.” 

 

“Sam,” he replies. “So, do you run with Captain America every day?” 

 

“This is only the second time,” Jennifer replies. “He promised to keep a reasonable pace for a lap, and an early morning run keeps my energy up during boring meetings.” 

 

“Do you work on the Hill?” he asks, and Jennifer figures it’s a reasonable question, given that it’s D.C. 

 

“I’m an attorney,” Jennifer replies, “and I try to stay off the Hill if at all possible. Politics aren’t really my thing.” 

 

As the words leave her mouth, she winces, hoping Sam isn’t a staffer. He just grins, though, and says, “Yeah, me neither. I’m a peer counselor at the VA.” 

 

That means he’d been military at one point, which puts Jennifer’s back up a bit, but she keeps telling herself that she needs to get over that hang up. Her lawsuit notwithstanding, not every soldier is like General Ross or his goons. 

 

“That seems like important work,” Jennifer says, keeping her tone even and pleasant. 

 

Sam cocks an eyebrow, maybe because he senses the uneasiness she feels, but he doesn’t comment on it. “I think it is. What kind of law do you practice?” 

 

“Mostly civil cases,” Jennifer replies. “Some civil rights, class action lawsuits, that sort of thing.” 

 

“Important work,” Sam echoes. “Trying to make the world a better place?” 

 

“That’s the general idea,” Jennifer admits. Steve laps them again, and Jennifer catches Sam’s eye roll, and she chuckles. “Pretty sure he’s barely showing off,” she says. 

 

They finish the run, exchanging small talk about the spring weather, as well as favorite places to go in town. Steve’s still doing laps when they stop to stretch out, and Jennifer glances at her watch to check the time. 

 

“Got one of those boring meetings?” Sam asks. 

 

“I do, and if I’m late, the partner is going to kill me,” Jennifer says. “So, if Steve doesn’t wrap this up soon, I’m going to have to take off.” 

 

Sam smiles. “I’ll stick around and let him know you had to run.” 

 

“Ha ha,” Jennifer says flatly, although she can’t help the smile that tugs at her lips. “I’d appreciate it, though.” 

 

Sam hesitates. “Look, I may be way out of line here, and you can tell me if I am, but can I take you to dinner while you’re in town?” 

 

Jennifer can feel herself blush. Sam is definitely cute and fit, and in spite of his background, he gives off a trustworthy vibe. “You’re not out of line, and dinner sounds good. I’m staying at the Capital Hilton.” 

 

“Say about seven tonight?” Sam asks. “I’ll meet you in the lobby.” 

 

Normally, Jennifer doesn’t let charming strangers pick her up, but she’s flattered, and the invulnerability works for her in this instance. If Sam is a crappy date, he can’t hurt her. And if he’s as good of a guy as he seems, Jennifer gets to have a little fun. 

 

“I don’t have anything else planned for tonight,” she says. “Tell Steve good luck from me.” 

 

“You bet,” Sam replies with a smile. “See you tonight.” 

 

Jennifer’s on the way to her meeting when her phone buzzes, and she sees the text on the screen. “Got a mission. See you next time.” 

 

“Looks like making a date was the right call,” she murmurs, and texts back, “Good luck.” 

 

Sam is in the lobby of her hotel at seven, right on time, wearing pressed khakis and a plaid button down, looking sharp but relaxed. “Hey,” he says. “You look great.” 

 

“So do you,” she replies. “Where are we going?” 

 

“There’s this place in Chinatown that has great dim sum, if you’re into that sort of thing,” Sam replies. 

 

Jennifer’s mouth begins watering immediately. “Oh, that sounds fantastic. I’m starving.” 

 

Sam offers his elbow like a gentleman. “I know you said I wasn’t overstepping, but I kind of feel like I’m making time with Steve Rogers’ girlfriend. Unless the woman who picked him up this morning was his girlfriend, and then I’m just going to think he’s got serious game.” 

 

Jennifer frowns. “Who—was she a redhead?” 

 

“Redhead with a great car,” Sam replies. “You know her?” 

 

Jennifer considers the question. “She’s a coworker of Steve’s, and I don’t think he’s dating her.” 

 

“And you two aren’t dating?” Sam asks. 

 

“Not exactly. We hang out when I’m in town, and we’re friends, but it’s kind of complicated.” Jennifer hesitates. “You should probably know that Bruce Banner is my cousin.” 

 

Sam shrugs. “Yeah, I got that. You’ve been in the news a few times.” 

 

“That’s the problem with standing anywhere close to Tony Stark,” Jennifer jokes. “You wind up in the papers.” 

 

Sam laughs. “That might be true, but when you’re a superhero on your own right, you’re probably going to be news, too. From what I hear, you and your cousin have quite a bit in common.” 

 

Jennifer hesitates. “We do.” 

 

“Pretty cool,” Sam says. 

 

“Sometimes it is,” she admits, grateful that she doesn’t have to broach the topic with him. Her identity, while not exactly a secret, isn’t nearly as public as Tony or Bruce’s, or even Steve and Thor’s. “What about you? What makes you get up and go to work every day?” 

 

“Probably the same thing that gets you out of bed,” Sam replies. “The opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life.” 

 

Jennifer nudges him. “And what made you decide to get into counseling?” 

 

“It helped me when I came back, and I wanted to pay it forward,” Sam replies. 

 

“I get that,” Jennifer replies. 

 

Sam nods. “Figured you would.” 

 

And they share a smile of understanding. 

 

 

Tony comes bursting into Bruce’s lab while he’s working on his water reclamation project and says, “I think we might have a problem.” 

 

Bruce looks up. “What problem, and how big?” 

 

“Project Insight,” Tony announces. “It’s nearing completion.” 

 

“And?” Bruce prompts. “We knew they were getting close to finishing the helicarriers.” 

 

“There’s a shit ton of data missing on the project,” Tony says. “I finally realized what our problem with the bug was.” 

 

Bruce frowns. “The bug—you’re saying there’s a hole in the available data. The bug didn’t find anything because someone removed it.” 

 

“Precisely,” Tony says, going over to a workstation and pulling up data with a few keystrokes. “Look, we expected the access to the information to be restricted, but the project data has all but disappeared. It’s not on the Triskelion’s servers anywhere.” 

 

Bruce adjusts his glasses and leans closer. “Like you said, access is restricted. Maybe they moved it off the SHIELD servers to prevent someone from stumbling across it.” 

 

“But why would three new helicarriers be _that_ much of a secret?” Tony counters. “So SHIELD builds three helicarriers, and they ask us to help out with the design, big deal.” 

 

Bruce considers that for a moment. “Agreed, it does seem a little odd. Anything else missing that we know about?” 

 

“How are we supposed to know what’s missing?” Tony demands. “It’s _not there_ , and we have no idea what _should_ be there! That’s what the bug was going to find.” 

 

Bruce understands Tony’s frustration, and to a certain extent, he shares it. “Okay, let’s approach this logically. The information we get out of SHIELD is necessarily going to be incomplete. Technology won’t help us here, because someone inside SHIELD clearly doesn’t want that information to be available.” 

 

Tony runs a hand through his hair. “What are you saying?” 

 

“I think we need to know if Fury’s privy to this information,” Bruce says. “Or if it goes beyond him.” 

 

“You want to call Fury and tell him that we suspect a vast conspiracy because we’ve had a bug planted in SHIELD’s servers for months?” Tony asks. “That’s your plan?” 

 

“No, my plan is that we call Steve,” Bruce replies. “He was in on planting the bug, so he already knows what we’re up to, and obviously hasn’t told Fury. He works at SHIELD, his suspicions might already have been raised.” 

 

“Steve?” Tony asks incredulously. “The guy who had no idea about Phase Two?” 

 

Bruce pulls his glasses off. “Tony, come on. That was two years ago, and Steve’s had a lot of life experiences since then, including being betrayed by Fury _twice_. He helped Jen, and he didn’t have to, so I think we should probably cut him a little slack.” 

 

“Is your cousin still in D.C.?” Tony asks. 

 

Bruce tries to remember what Jennifer had told him about her schedule. “Yeah, I think so.” 

 

“Have her try to get it out of Steve,” Tony says. “He might be more open with her than he would be with either of us.” 

 

Bruce sighs. “I don’t like using Jennifer to do our dirty work.” 

 

“It’s not dirty work,” Tony argues. “It’s a smart use of our resources, and you know this affects Jen. If someone at SHIELD is dirty, and if that ends up threatening us, she’s going to be in the crosshairs, too.” 

 

Bruce takes a deep breath. “I’ll call her, but I think it might make more sense for me to go to D.C. to talk to her in person, and maybe Steve as well.” 

 

“Do you think that’s smart?” Tony asks. “They might suspect something.” 

 

“Like what?” Bruce asks. “I have a couple of meetings I’ve been putting off, and I’ll schedule them and see Jennifer in between.” 

 

Tony nods. “That’s as good a cover as any. Just be careful while you’re there. That’s not our turf.” 

 

“Maybe not, but I’ll be careful,” Bruce says. “It will be just like old times, Tony.” 

 

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Tony replies. “Old times were not always the best of times.” 

 

Bruce hauls him in for a hug, pressing his lips to Tony’s temple. “I’ll be extra careful.” 

 

“Good,” Tony replies. “Because I don’t want anything to happen to you, and I know how much you hate transforming.” 

 

“I’m going to get going,” Bruce says. “I need to make some phone calls and pack, and I need to call Jen to verify she’s still in D.C.” 

 

“Let me know when you’re leaving,” Tony replies. “I’d like to give you a decent sendoff.” 

 

Bruce smirks. “That sounds like a promise.” 

 

“Good,” Tony replies. “Because that’s exactly what it was.” 

 

Bruce is a very satisfied man when he takes the train down to D.C., and he wonders if marriage is ever going to get old. If the last year is any indication, probably not. 

 

Jennifer hadn’t answered her phone when he called, but Bruce is friendly with a couple of the people at Jennifer’s office, and one of them confirmed Jennifer’s presence in D.C. “She should be there for another couple of days, Dr. Banner,” Justin said. “The settlement negotiations haven’t been going as well as she’d hoped.” 

 

“Thanks, Justin,” Bruce said. “Which hotel is she staying at?” 

 

He gets a room at the same place, just because it will save some time and effort, and then he tries calling her again. “Hey, Jen, it’s me. I’m in D.C., and we need to talk. There’ve been some new developments.” 

 

Bruce hangs up and thinks over his options, then calls Steve, who answers immediately. “Dr. Banner, to what do I owe this honor?” 

 

“I’m in D.C., and I’d like to see you,” Bruce replies. “Is Jennifer with you?” 

 

“No, but she’s supposed to come over a little later,” Steve replies. “She was going out to dinner with someone else, and then we were supposed to watch movies.” 

 

Bruce blinks. “Who was she going to dinner with?” 

 

“I think I should let Jennifer tell you that,” Steve replies. “But he seems like a good guy.” 

 

“You’ve met him?” Bruce asks. 

 

He can hear Steve’s hesitation. “A couple of times, but I don’t think I’m the person you should be talking to about this.” 

 

“You’re right,” Bruce says. “Look, I don’t want to talk about this over the phone, but it’s important. Can I come over to your place tonight?” 

 

“The more the merrier,” Steve says. “If you want to grab dinner together, I haven’t eaten yet.” 

 

Bruce hasn’t spent much time with Steve since the mess with the Mandarin, but he’s not opposed to the idea, and maybe he can get a read on the situation without putting Jennifer in the middle again. “Sure. Any preferences?” 

 

“Well, I haven’t been able to cross Thai food off my list yet,” Steve admits. 

 

“Sounds good,” Bruce replies. “Do you know of a place?” 

 

“I was hoping that you would,” Steve replies. “I have no idea.” 

 

Bruce chuckles. “I’ll ask Jarvis and text you the address.” 

 

The Thai place Jarvis recommends happens to be a few blocks from Steve’s place, and Bruce takes a cab over, rather than risk the Metro. He can afford a cab, and putting him in a metal canister underground always feels like a risk. 

 

Steve is casual in jeans and a t-shirt, and Bruce is fairly certain that he’s even more ripped now than he was when he’d seen Steve at New Year’s. 

 

“Good to see you again, Bruce,” Steve says, greeting him with a firm handshake. 

 

“Likewise,” Bruce replies. “What’s this list you mentioned?” 

 

Steve hesitates, appearing a little bashful. “It was Jennifer’s idea. You know, keep a list of all the things I missed and want to try. She got me started, and it just kind of grew from there.” 

 

“Can I see?” Bruce asks as they find a table. 

 

Steve hands over the notebook, and Bruce flips through the pages, and the last page he sees written a variety of items from television, historical events, movies, with the last entry being “Troubleman (Soundtrack).” 

 

“Good soundtrack,” Bruce comments and pulls a pen out of his pocket, writing down “Doctor Who (television).” “Give it a few episodes,” Bruce adds. “If it’s not your cup of tea, no hard feelings.” 

 

“Thanks,” Steve replies, tucking the notebook away. “Anything in particular you’d recommend here?” 

 

Bruce thinks about it for a minute. “Pad Thai is probably the dish most people start out with, but I like the fried basil and pork. The green curry is good, but spicy.” 

 

“I can handle spice,” Steve replies. 

 

“Get a couple of dishes, and take the rest home for leftovers,” Bruce advises. “Dinner’s on me.” 

 

“You don’t have to do that,” Steve objects. 

 

Bruce shrugs. “It’s not a big deal, especially since it seems my cousin stood you up.” 

 

Steve glances away. “It’s not like that. I mean, I really like Jennifer, but I don’t think I can move fast enough for her.” 

 

Bruce isn’t comfortable discussing Jennifer’s love life, especially when he’s not certain of the lay of the land. “She prefers people to be direct about what they want so she can make her own decisions.” 

 

“She’s a good friend,” Steve says firmly. 

 

“She is that,” Bruce agrees. “So, who is she having dinner with tonight?” 

 

Steve smiles. “Do I really want to get in the middle of this?” 

 

“Who says you’re in the middle?” Bruce asks. “Besides, I plan on asking Jen as soon as I see her.” 

 

Steve sighs. “Sam Wilson, former pararescue, currently works at the VA as a counselor, and a really nice guy from what I can tell.” Steve hesitates. “He’s the first guy to really understand what it’s like coming back from a warzone.” 

 

Bruce winces. He and Tony probably could have been more welcoming, and he knows that SHIELD’s assessment had been accurate. From the moment that they’d committed to watching each other’s backs, they’d created a single world, population of two.  

 

Then again, individual experiences are just that: individual. He doesn’t really know what it’s like to come home from a warzone—although he does know what it’s like to be on the run, and exposed to privation and danger on a daily basis. Had Bruce not been so focused on Tony, or less resentful of Steve, he might have been shown more empathy. 

 

“I’m sorry about that,” Bruce says. “I could have been a little more understanding when we first met.” 

 

Steve shakes his head. “Don’t worry about it. I won’t say I know what it’s like for you and Tony, but I had a friend from before, Bucky—we grew up together. Some of the other guys on my team said that being around us, it was like we were in our own world.” 

 

“I’ve heard the same thing with me and Tony,” Bruce admits. “Still, I know a little something about getting dropped in a different world overnight.” 

 

Steve takes a sip of his water. “You mean getting into Tony’s world?” 

 

“Pretty much,” Bruce replies. “I went from a cave in Afghanistan, which was actually a little nicer than the places I had been staying—terrorists aside—to Tony’s mansion. If I hadn’t been so focused on Tony, it probably would have been more of a shock to my system.” 

 

Steve nods. “I guess that’s the difference. You had someone to watch your back while you were getting acclimated.” 

 

“It certainly didn’t hurt,” Bruce replies. “But for what it’s worth, you have me, and Jen, and even Tony, although he probably won’t admit it.” 

 

“Nat’s been great, too,” Steve admits. “But thanks. Things have been—difficult lately. I’m not quite sure who to trust.” 

 

Bruce isn’t sure how to respond to that, but he replies, “I won’t tell you that you can trust me, because I know that has to be earned, but I am committed to making the world a better place.” 

 

“But who gets to decide if that’s the right call?” Steve asks. “What if you make a decision that ends up costing a lot of lives, all in the name of saving them?” 

 

Bruce looks down at his hands. “I think that would be really hard to live with, but it’s all too possible with the Other Guy in play.” 

 

“That’s not exactly what I meant,” Steve says. “I mean—we probably shouldn’t talk about this here.” 

 

Bruce nods. “I agree. How about we get the food to go, and we can hash it out. How often do you sweep your apartment?” 

 

“Sweep?” Steve asks, and then the light dawns. “I don’t know. I search every so often, but I don’t usually conduct sensitive meetings at my place.” 

 

Bruce gives him a look. “That doesn’t matter. Never mind, I can take care of it. Thankfully, Tony’s a paranoid bastard.” 

 

They get their food to go and walk to Steve’s place, where Bruce pulls up the “debugger” feature on his Stark phone. As far as he knows, only he and Tony have this particular app, but he should probably float the idea of making it available to Jennifer. 

 

“Do you need any help?” Steve asks. 

 

“No, it’ll just be a second,” Bruce says, following the app’s directions to the three high-tech listening devices placed around Steve’s apartment. He’s fairly certain that they’re SHIELD models, which means Fury has been keeping a close eye on Steve. 

 

Bruce grabs the bugs and shoves them in the freezer. It’s a low-tech solution, but sometimes those are best. “My advice would be to play dumb if anybody asks about them,” Bruce says when he’s done. “Tell him that I stopped by, and I’m just as paranoid as Tony.” 

 

Steve gives him a look. “No offense, Bruce, but I’m pretty sure you’re _more_ paranoid than Tony.” 

 

Bruce smiles serenely. “It’s not paranoia if they’re actually out to get you. So, what’s been bothering you recently?” 

 

Slowly, over their meals, Steve tells Bruce about his recent mission where he’d realized that Fury had given Natasha a separate task, and finding out about Project Insight. “Fury says they’re using the new helicarriers to preemptively deal with threats, but that doesn’t sit right with me.” 

 

“It shouldn’t,” Bruce says slowly. “Did he say how they were going to determine who or what is a threat?” 

 

Steve shakes his head. “No, but he told me to keep my eyes open.” 

 

“Then that’s what you should do,” Bruce replies. “For what it’s worth, Tony and I helped build those helicarriers, the engines, anyway. If we have to shut the project down, we can.” 

 

Steve grimaces. “I’m not sure if that’s supposed to make me feel better.” 

 

“We did it because we don’t entirely trust SHIELD, or the people who run it,” Bruce says. “From what you’ve said, you feel the same way.” 

 

“I do,” Steve replies. “But I’m not sure how I feel about you and Tony making a unilateral decision either.” 

 

Bruce can see Steve’s point, but responds with, “And if we exercise our discretion, the worst that happens is that SHIELD is out a few helicarriers, and we apologize profusely.” 

 

Steve sighs. “We really should talk more often. I figured you guys had an eye on things after you had Jennifer place the bug, but Tony said he hadn’t found anything at New Year’s—“ 

 

“He hadn’t,” Bruce says. “In fact, we still haven’t, which is exactly why I’m talking to you about it, because the absence of information is just as bad as not having enough. There’s something about Project Insight that’s worrying both of us.” 

 

“Not just you,” Steve says.  

 

When someone knocks on the door, Steve says, “That’s probably Jen. I’ll get it.” 

 

Jennifer breezes through the door and then pulls up short at the sight of Bruce. “Oh, hey.” 

 

“I tried calling,” Bruce says, amused. “I left a message.” 

 

Jennifer pulls out her phone. “Yeah, I can see that. Sorry.” 

 

“No, it’s fine,” Bruce says. “I didn’t want to intrude on your evening.” 

 

Jennifer holds up a DVD case. “We’re watching _Star Trek_ , original flavor tonight, so if you want to stick around, I don’t mind if Steve doesn’t.” 

 

“I don’t mind,” Steve says. “Although I may have inadvertently mentioned your date.” 

 

Jennifer blushes. “How much did Steve tell you?” 

 

“His name’s Sam, and he’s apparently a nice guy,” Bruce replies. “The more important question is whether you had a good time.” 

 

Jennifer smiles. “I did, and he was a perfect gentleman.” 

 

“That’s good enough for me,” Bruce says. “But I have a meeting tomorrow, so I should probably leave you two to your evening. Some other time, maybe.” 

 

“Thanks for dinner, Bruce,” Steve says with a warm handshake. “It was—enlightening.” 

 

“For me, too,” Bruce replies. “Call if you need anything.” 

 

When Bruce leaves, he’s unsettled enough by what Steve had said to immediately call Tony. “You were right to be worried,” he says. “I think we need to move to high alert.” 

 

“How bad?” Tony asks. “And do you want me down there?” 

 

Bruce considers it. “I think it might be better for everyone if we’re in New York, but we need to be ready to move on Plan B. We both know what a preemptive strike from SHIELD will probably look like.” 

 

“Shit,” Tony says succinctly. “Okay, are you coming home now?” 

 

“No, I’ve got that meeting tomorrow, and it’s going to look worse if I postpone it again,” Bruce replies. “But I’ll head back immediately after that.” 

 

“Be careful,” Tony says. 

 

“Always,” Bruce replies and hangs up, wondering just when the next shoe is going to drop. 

 

 

After Bruce’s call, Tony checks to make sure all of his alerts are still in place and no one has been able to remove them. He also activates the apps on Bruce, Jennifer, and Pepper’s phones. Bruce knows about Tony’s plans, but Tony hasn’t said anything to Pepper or Jennifer. He doesn’t think Bruce has either. 

 

They’re playing their cards close to the vest on this one, but they don’t have a choice from what Tony can see. As far as he’s concerned, they’re up against an entire organization.  

 

Tony doesn’t trust SHIELD, and he doesn’t trust the WSC, and the more he finds out, the more worried he gets. 

 

He’s got a map up, and he can see where everybody is located. Granted, Tony has two trackers on Bruce and Jennifer; the beacons built into the undergarments created by FitzSimmons will do double duty. 

 

Tony catches a nap on the couch in his lab, not wanting to miss anything, and then makes a shake for breakfast. He’s in the lab when the alert on Fury’s car comes in, and Tony quickly pulls up the data from the attack. 

 

“Jarvis, do we have any video?” Tony asks. 

 

“We have some information coming in from Director Fury’s vehicle,” Jarvis replies, and the video plays on the screen. “Currently, it appears as though he’s being chased by police.” 

 

“I’m going to take a wild guess and say those aren’t actual police officers,” Tony replies. “Can we get facial recognition running on them?” 

 

There’s a pause, and Jarvis says, “If we can get a clear picture of their faces, I can compare them to all known databases to which I have access.” 

 

“So, most of them,” Tony replies. “Do it.” 

 

He watches the video until it goes black, presumably because the vehicle is too badly damaged to continue recording. He calls Bruce immediately, but gets his voicemail. “Fury was just attacked, and I’m not sure how badly injured he might be. Keep your eyes open and be careful.” 

 

Tony repeats the same phone call and message for Jennifer, and then hesitates before dialing Steve’s number. Unlike the others, Steve picks up right away. “Stark?” 

 

“That’s right,” Tony replies. “Look, Fury was just attacked, and I’m not sure how bad it is.” 

 

“How do you know?” Steve asks. “Did he contact you?” 

 

Tony smiles, even though he knows Steve can’t see his expression. “No, but he asked me to build a vehicle for him, and I added a few things. After your conversation with Bruce, I was pretty much on high alert.” 

 

Steve makes a frustrated sound. “And you wonder why SHIELD doesn’t trust you.” 

 

“And _you_ wonder why I don’t trust SHIELD,” Tony counters immediately. “Don’t be obtuse, Steve. We’ve had this conversation before, and someone there nearly got Bruce killed. I’m not inclined to forgive _or_ forget.” 

 

Steve groans. “I know, it’s just—trust has to start somewhere, right?” He sounds more like he’s trying to convince himself than to convince Tony, and Tony gets that. Steve is a straight shooter, and the games Fury plays—and that Tony will engage in to protect those important to him—are completely beyond his ken most of the time. 

 

“Sure,” Tony agrees easily. “Do you trust Fury?” 

 

There’s a pause. “I do.” 

 

“So do I, to a point,” Tony replies. “Which is why I put a few more bells and whistles on his car. I don’t want to have to break in a new director, and I can guaran-damn-tee that Fury suspected I would and asked me to build the car anyway.” 

 

Steve doesn’t respond directly. “All right, why are you telling me?” 

 

“Because I can’t find a record of Fury showing up at the hospital or the morgue,” Tony says. “And because the people attacking him were disguised as police officers, which indicates this might be big. Be careful, stay sharp, and call me if you need me.” 

 

There’s a long pause, and Steve says, “Thanks, Tony.” 

 

“Look, I owe you for Bruce,” Tony replies. 

 

He doesn’t add that they’re supposed to be a team now, but he figures that’s understood. At least, it should be. 

 

“Stay safe,” Steve says and hangs up. 

 

Tony has the sense that some serious shit is about to go down. It’s not just Project Insight, it’s also the fact that their bug hadn’t been able to find anything, and that someone had dressed a bunch of people up like cops to attack Nick Fury in broad daylight. 

 

That last piece of the puzzle tells Tony that whoever is behind this doesn’t feel like they have anything to hide, that they can do what they want without fear of repercussion. 

 

Every agent in SHIELD is going to be up in arms over this when word gets out, and every other alphabet agency is going to want a piece. 

 

“Facial recognition is complete for two of Director Fury’s attackers,” Jarvis announces. “One is a known terrorist, originally from Chechnya, and the other is a SHIELD agent.” 

 

Tony frowns. “What’s the status of the SHIELD agent?” 

 

“As far as I can tell, he was a deep cover operative in Eastern Europe, current status unknown,” Jarvis replies. 

 

“Not unknown anymore,” Tony mutters. 

 

“Shall I alert the authorities?” Jarvis asks. 

 

Tony shakes his head. “No, not yet. Not until we know who gave the order to attack Fury.” He sighs. “Do you have an ETA on Bruce?” 

 

“He bought tickets for the 2 pm train out of D.C.,” Jarvis says. “He should be home in time for dinner.” 

 

“Order something from that Indian place he likes so much,” Tony replies. “And let’s order enough to last us a couple of days. I doubt Bruce is going to have time to cook.” 

 

“Of course, sir,” Jarvis replies. “I’ll order your usual.” 

 

Tony doesn’t have much information to work with, so he decides that now would be the time to gather additional resources. “Call Pepper.” 

 

Pepper looks harried when she answers. “I don’t have time right now, Tony. I have a meeting with several very important people about placing additional arc reactors.” 

 

“And I need you to reach out to Coulson to let him know that something big is going down, and to find out what he knows,” Tony replies. “He won’t take my calls.” 

 

“Gee, I wonder why,” Pepper replies, but then immediately sighs. “I’ll see what I can do. If he’s busy, he doesn’t always answer my calls either.” 

 

Tony hesitates. “Do your best, Pepper, and stay out of D.C., okay?” 

 

“I’m heading to Navarro in about fifteen minutes,” Pepper replies. “Which you would know if you ever checked the itinerary I send you.” 

 

“Jarvis keeps track of that sort of thing,” he says dismissively. “Besides, that doesn’t tell me where you’re _going_ to be, as you well know. And if something pops up, you’re just as capable as I am of jetting to wherever you’re needed. I’m saying, stay out of D.C. until Bruce and I give you the all clear.” 

 

Pepper is quiet for a moment. “Promise me that you’re not planning on riding a nuke into space again.” 

 

“That would depend entirely on the assholes with the nuclear codes,” Tony counters. “But I’ll do my best. You know how Bruce worries.” 

 

“I know it’s against your nature or code or whatever, but keep me informed,” Pepper orders. 

 

If Tony doesn’t want Pepper involved, he figures it’s probably a good idea if he does just that. “I will.” 

 

“I’ll talk to you soon,” Pepper promises. “And if I hear from Phil, I’ll either let you know or have him call you.” 

 

Tony drums his fingers on his workstation, and then puts in another call, this time to Barton. “Where are you, and what are you doing?” 

 

“I’m home,” Clint drawls. “And right now I’m taking care of a few chores. Why?” 

 

“Have you been in touch with Natasha?” he asks. 

 

Clint pauses. “No, I usually don’t hear from her much when I’ve got time off.” 

 

“You’re safe, though?” Tony presses. 

 

“Yeah, Stark, I’m safe,” Clint replies, a hint of impatience in his voice. “What the hell is this about?” 

 

Tony hesitates. “I don’t know. Look, something is going down, and I don’t know what it is, but I figured if you were out in the field, I’d make sure you were safe.” 

 

“Didn’t know you cared,” Clint jokes. 

 

“Like I told Steve, and like I’ll tell you, I owe you for Bruce,” Tony replies. “Anybody who was there for that thing with the Mandarin, I’m going to take a personal interest in their safety.” 

 

Clint is quiet for a moment. “I appreciate that, but I’m in a safe house.” 

 

“Anybody at SHIELD know about the location of that safe house?” 

 

“Natasha and Fury,” Clint replies. “Maybe Hill, I’m not sure.” 

 

Tony nods. “Let’s keep it that way. If anything changes, I’ll let you know.” 

 

“You know, you’re not nearly as much of an asshole as everybody says,” Clint says. 

 

“Don’t let that get out,” Tony orders.  

 

“Let me know if you need me,” Clint says. “I’ll keep my go bag ready.” 

 

Tony nods. “You do that.” After another moment, he calls another number and gets Darcy. “Where’s Dr. Foster?” 

 

“Hello to you, too, Iron Man,” Darcy says. “What up?” 

 

Tony privately thinks that Darcy Lewis could give him a run for his money in the “deliberately annoying” department. “I need to speak with Thor if he’s around.” 

 

“Can’t help you,” Darcy says. “He had something on another planet, and Jane is deep in her lab. I think she’s working on that paper she’s writing with Dr. Banner and Dr. Selvig.” 

 

Tony figures that there’s no help from that angle, but maybe that’s for the best. They’re out of harm’s way. “If you see Thor, tell him to call me.” 

 

They might not be a team, not really, but Tony isn’t going to shy away from doing his duty. Right now, he’s pretty sure that this might be bigger than all of them. 

 

 

Pepper feels enough alarm to call Phil, leaving a message for him. “Phil, this is Pepper. Tony seems to think there’s something going down, maybe inside SHIELD. It sounds like it could get bad. Call me when you have the chance.” 

 

She hasn’t talked to Phil much recently, partly because of her own schedule, but also because of his. They’re both busy, with a lot on their plates, and they haven’t been in the same place for months. 

 

At the moment, Pepper rather regrets that fact, because maybe she’d have a little better idea of what’s up with Phil and SHIELD, but she has a company to run, and a brand to sell. She does take a moment to text Matty with a heads up. If he’s not already at the Tower, he’ll head that way now and make himself conspicuous until Tony gives him something to work with. 

 

Reporters like Matty typically have the patience of the proverbial saint. 

 

Pepper’s transport is a prop plane that gets her from the closest regional airport to a landing area just outside of town that they’ve used to bring in certain supplies. Ostensibly, Pepper is there to sell the arc reactor as an alternative to regular energy sources, but really, Miriam will do that for her. The factory is humming right along, and their production numbers are a huge selling point. 

 

The plan is to lease arc reactors in exchange for regular upgrades and maintenance, and the contractual obligation not to reverse engineer it. 

 

Granted, Pepper’s pretty sure that very few people would be able to duplicate Tony’s creation, not at the level the arc reactor is currently operating. 

 

“Welcome,” Miriam says cheerfully, giving Pepper a hug that’s slightly scented by lavender. “Everything is going great!” 

 

“So I hear,” Pepper replies. “You’re doing tremendous work here.” 

 

“It’s really amazing,” Miriam enthuses. “It’s community outreach, relationship building, creating resources—it’s like this job was tailor-made for me.” 

 

Pepper couldn’t agree more. Miriam had asked if she needed to dress up or wear a suit for this meeting, but Pepper had said, “Wear whatever you’re comfortable in. They’re not expecting someone in a suit unless that’s me.” 

 

True to form, Miriam wears one of her patchwork skirts and a tank top in a concession to the warm spring day. The tattoos on her arms feature prominently, swirls of abstract color drawing the eye. Her brightly dyed hair is purple today, wrapped up in a red scarf that should clash and somehow works, and the piercings in her nose and ears are subtle but present. 

 

She’s not exactly Stark Industries’ usual choice for an ambassador, but Miriam’s enthusiasm for the project, and her clear love for the people in Navarro tends to win over the staunchest opposition. 

 

Pepper has seen their crusty plant manager greet Miriam with a hug and a gruff kiss on the cheek. 

 

“Anything I should know?” Miriam asks. “I mean, I’ve never really done this before.” 

 

“They’re not here to talk to me,” Pepper replies. “They’re here because they think Navarro is the beginning of a sea change, and they want to be in front of it. You are our best ambassador, because you love it.” 

 

Miriam laughs. “I really do. I want to thank you, and Dr. Banner and Mr. Stark. I had no idea what I was going to do after the Peace Corps, but this place is exactly what I needed.” 

 

“I think it might be exactly the place a lot of people need,” Pepper replies. 

 

Their guests are CEOs of some of biggest, most progressive companies on the planet, who see the potential in what they’re doing, and want to get in on the ground floor. 

 

Pepper shows them around initially, but then lets Miriam take the lead. Miriam knows everybody in town, and as she leads the tour, she introduces the CEOs to various neighbors, inviting a personal connection.  

 

Under Miriam’s skillful facilitation, the people they run into talk about what they like about Navarro, and what they don’t. One woman wishes they had a bookstore in town, and speculates about opening one, but she doesn’t have the money. A man wishes someone would reopen the hardware store that closed a few years before. 

 

A little boy named Jaden complains that there are vegetables at every meal now, which makes everybody laugh. 

 

“You know,” Mariam says slyly. “I’m pretty sure Captain America eats his vegetables.” 

 

Jaden wrinkles his nose. “Are you sure?” 

 

“Pretty sure,” Mariam says. “But I can find out for you.” 

 

“Well, I know that Hulk and Iron Man both eat their vegetables,” Pepper adds.  

 

Jaden scoffs. “No way. They don’t have a mom to make them.” 

 

Pepper leans down and whispers in his ear. “Hulk _likes_ vegetables. That’s one of the reasons why he’s so big and green.” 

 

It’s a small lie, but she can hear the laughter, and Jaden looks at her with wide eyes. “How do you know?” 

 

Pepper pulls out her phone and shows him a picture that was taken at Tony and Bruce’s wedding of the four of them—Tony and Bruce, her and Jennifer. 

 

“Well, I’ll _try_ to eat them,” Jaden says. 

 

There’s more laughter from their visitors, and then they wind up in one of the conference rooms of the plant, where Pepper goes through her presentation on output. “As you can see, there’s been no drop off of performance using the arc reactor. Combined with the arc reactor, the solar panels can power the entire town, with energy to spare. Our new fiber ensures everyone here has free access to the internet and basic cable.” 

 

“Can this be duplicated elsewhere?” the representative from a large food conglomerate asks. 

 

“To a certain extent, maybe not,” Pepper says honestly. “Navarro is unique, but the lessons we learn here can inform future decisions. We can run a plant on clean energy, power a town, _and_ offer basic necessities. How many small towns in the Rust Belt are drying up for lack of work? What we’re doing here could reverse that process.” 

 

“You’re offering Navarro as a panacea to all modern ills,” Keith says. He’s the head of a large defense contractor who had talked his way into this presentation, although Pepper has no plans of offering him the chance to lease the arc reactor technology. 

 

Pepper snorts. “Of course not. That would be simplistic, and no one has ever accused me of being simplistic.” 

 

There’s laughter, and Marta asks, “What are the restrictions on arc reactor technology?” 

 

Pepper remembers her friends, and Marta is one of them. “Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner are adamantly opposed to the proliferation of weapons. That includes the use of arc reactor technology to build those weapons.” 

 

“Body armor?” Marta asks, since her company is one of the foremost purveyor of body armor both for the military and police. 

 

“That’s different,” Pepper replies. 

 

“What’s the point of all this?” Keith demands. “We all know Stark thinks he’s a nuclear deterrent, and he doesn’t have to make weapons because he is one.” He pauses. “Or maybe because he’s married to one.” 

 

Pepper knows her smile is completely insincere. “Dr. Banner would prefer not to be referred to as a weapon. You’re on rather thin ice, Keith.” 

 

Keith sneers. “There are other people on the market, Pepper. People like Hank Pym are also coming up with viable alternatives.” 

 

“Dr. Pym is an intelligent man,” Pepper says diplomatically. “And he has a lot to offer to the world. But he doesn’t have what we’re offering, and he never will. Neither will you, to be frank.” 

 

She smiles coldly. “Now, shall we talk terms, ladies and gentlemen?” 

 

 

“So, then I walk in to see my cousin standing there,” Jennifer says with a laugh. They’re in a cheap pizzeria he’d recommended with kitschy gingham tablecloths and ancient red Pepsi cups and a small, LED tea light glowing in a glass container in the middle of every table. “It was super awkward.” 

 

Sam laughs, leaning closer to her. “On a scale from one to ten, just how awkward was it?” 

 

Jennifer has almost forgotten the art of flirtation, it’s been so long. “What kind of range are we talking about here?” 

 

Sam smiles. “One being running into an ex, and ten walking in on your parents having sex.” 

 

Jennifer frowns. “Are we talking about an amicable split with an ex, or going full nuclear?” 

 

“Amicable split, but he or she introduces you to their new spouse, who knows nothing about you,” Sam says. 

 

Jennifer snorts. “Come on, that’s at least a two or three.” 

 

“Fine,” Sam says. “What counts as number one for you?” 

 

“Realizing your fly is down during the middle of a courtroom,” Jennifer replies. 

 

Sam raises an eyebrow. “I’d call that at least a three. How are people going to trust you if you can’t even remember to do up your fly?” 

 

“The very reason I wear skirts most of the time,” Jennifer says. “Which is why it’s funnier when it’s the other side.” 

 

Sam laughs. “Okay, agree to disagree, but now you have your points of reference, so?” 

 

“About a five,” Jennifer replies. “It wouldn’t have been so bad if Bruce had known I had a date that night, but Steve spilled the beans. Also, I’m pretty sure Bruce and Tony suspected I was dating Steve and just wasn’t telling them about it.” 

 

Sam looks surprised. “Why wouldn’t you tell him you were dating Captain America? He seems like the ideal guy to bring home to meet the family.” 

 

“It’s a little more complicated than that,” Jennifer replies. “And not a story that’s mine to tell. They’re not friends, but they aren’t _not_ friends either.” 

 

“Are all superheroes’ lives this complicated?” Sam asks. 

 

Jennifer shrugs. “Wouldn’t know.” 

 

“You’re a superhero,” Sam says. 

 

“And I’ve been warned to stay under the radar,” Jennifer replies. “Plus, I’m related to two superheroes, so we mostly stay drama free.” 

 

Sam shrugs. “Fair enough. So, feel free to say no, and I won’t hold it against you if you do, but you want to come over to my place for a nightcap?” 

 

Jennifer hesitates. “Is sex on offer? Because I feel like I should warn you it’s been a long time, so while I’m incredibly attracted to you—” 

 

“Hey, no pressure,” Sam replies. “What do you say we have a drink, and then we just see where the mood takes us? You can steer.” 

 

“I love steering,” Jennifer replies, grateful that she’d followed her New York City impulses and has a pair of sneakers, a pair of gym shorts, and a spare t-shirt in her bag. 

 

The restaurant is a short walk and a Metro stop away from Sam’s place, and they have that drink—decaf coffee—and Sam says, “So, if I can ask, how on earth has it been a long time for you?” 

 

Jennifer shrugs. “Demanding job, extracurricular activities, having absolutely no idea how to broach the issue of my greener half, not knowing how I’ll respond to sex, take your pick.” She pauses. “Plus, a lot of people try to get close to me because of my relationship with Tony and Bruce.” 

 

“Well, I can’t say that I wouldn’t love meeting them, but I’m more interested in getting to know _you_ ,” Sam replies. 

 

Jennifer pulls back. “You’re a player, Sam Wilson. Don’t even bother to deny it.” 

 

“Guilty, maybe, but I never leave anybody unsatisfied,” Sam says. 

 

It’s been a long time since Jennifer has been able to scratch her itch, so she pulls Sam in for a kiss. He’s talented, and his hands don’t stray from her waist until she physically moves one from her waist to her breast. 

 

Clearly, he really is letting her steer. 

 

The make out session gets hot and heavy, and Jennifer straddles his lap. No clothing comes off, but he puts the heel of his hand against her clit through her jeans, and she palms his dick, and Jennifer comes from that alone. 

 

She’s willing to reciprocate, so she undoes the fly of Sam’s pants and finishes him off with her hand once she has enough room to work. 

 

“Sorry for the mess,” she says, although she’s not sorry at all. 

 

Sam laughs. “Do you see me complaining? I can offer you a shower and a place to sleep if you don’t want to go all the way back to your hotel.” 

 

Jennifer hesitates. “How awkward is tomorrow going to be on a scale from one to ten?” 

 

“That would depend entirely on you,” Sam says. “I’m hoping to go for a run first thing, and maybe an awkward score of negative two.” 

 

She laughs. “Something to aim for.” 

 

Mostly, it works. Her first meeting isn’t until ten, so she has plenty of time. They wake up with the sun and go for a run, which has been helping combat the urge she has to transform. Jennifer plans to grab her things from Sam’s place and go back to the hotel to shower and change, but she’s thirsty, and Sam offers orange juice. 

 

She checks her phone and sees she’s missed a couple of phone calls from Bruce, and she’s about to listen to them when there’s a knock on Sam’s back door. 

 

“Were you expecting someone?” Jennifer asks. 

 

“Nope,” Sam replies, and Jennifer can see tension in the set of his shoulders as he opens the door. 

 

“Sorry to barge in like this, but we need a place to lay low,” Steve’s voice says. “There wasn’t anyone else we could trust.” 

 

Sam glances over his shoulder. “What would you say? About a six on the scale?” 

 

“Maybe a seven,” Jennifer says. “Nice to know I rate so highly, Steve.” 

 

Sam steps back to allow them entrance, and Steve’s eyes widen comically. “Jen? I thought you went back to New York.” 

 

“That’s tomorrow,” Jennifer replies. “Hi, Natasha.” 

 

“Hi,” Natasha replies, clearly amused. “You’re looking great.” 

 

Jennifer takes in their disheveled state and the dirt and dust on them. “I wish I could say the same for you guys. How bad are we talking?” 

 

“Pretty bad,” Steve replies. “And I really did think you were back in New York.” 

 

Jennifer sighs. “It’s fine. Look, I need to call and cancel my meeting.” 

 

“You might not want to get involved,” Natasha hedges. 

 

Jennifer glares at her. “Oh, but you’re going to involve Sam, who is presumably _not_ invulnerable?” 

 

Sam has been watching their exchange, and he says, “She has a point, Steve.” 

 

“SHIELD has been infiltrated by Hydra,” Steve says. “This is dangerous.” 

 

“Life is dangerous,” Jennifer replies and dials the number for the partner she’s been working with. “Hi, it’s Jennifer. There’s an emergency.” 

 

“Does this have anything to do with the reports that Captain America is wanted by the authorities?” Stan asks. 

 

Jennifer hesitates. “If it was?” 

 

“I’d tell you to be careful,” Stan replies. “And I would say that it would probably be better to keep your face out of the news because some of the partners are getting nervous about your not-so-secret identity.” 

 

“Understood,” Jennifer says. She hangs up. “Okay, have you guys called Bruce and Tony yet? Because I have three messages from Bruce, and you probably only want to go through this story once.” 

 

Steve and Natasha look at each other. 

 

Jennifer frowns. “You _were_ planning on calling them, right?” 

 

“We didn’t have a lot of time,” Steve says defensively. 

 

“You don’t think Tony and Bruce are Hydra, do you?” Jennifer demands. “You don’t trust them?” 

 

Natasha clears her throat. “We couldn’t be sure who was being watched, and we didn’t have a secure line. We know that Bruce and Tony aren’t part of this.” 

 

“They haven’t been very forthcoming about what they’re doing, though,” Steve mutters. 

 

Jennifer rolls her eyes. “Yeah, because they knew there was a mole who nearly got Bruce killed! So, yes, they’re playing things close to the vest, but Bruce _came to you_ , Steve. He told you what information they had.” 

 

“We still don’t have a secure line,” Natasha says. “That’s why we came here. We knew no one would be watching Sam, but the same won’t be true for Bruce and Tony.” 

 

Jennifer huffs. “Are you kidding me? After what happened with the Mandarin, Tony has been _extra_ paranoid. He made sure that Bruce, Pepper, and I could make a secure call no matter where we are.” 

 

“Call him,” Steve says with a sigh. 

 

“I can see why you’re such a good attorney,” Sam mutters. 

 

Jennifer smirks. “Oh, you have no idea.” 

 

They sit down around Sam’s tiny kitchen table, and Jennifer is glad that she’s seated across from Natasha and next to Sam. She’s pretty sure Steve doesn’t have any hard feelings about her seeing Sam, but his attitude about calling Tony and Bruce kind of pisses her off. 

 

Bruce answers his phone immediately. “Jen, where the hell are you? I’ve left four messages.” 

 

“I was with a friend,” Jennifer replies. “I’m putting you on speaker.” 

 

“Tell me you’re with Steve,” Bruce says. 

 

“I’m with him,” she confirms and hits the speakerphone button. “Is Tony with you?” 

 

“I am now,” Tony replies. “Steve, do you know how much trouble you’ve caused? I thought I was the only one allowed to make that kind of mess.” 

 

Steve sighs, aggrieved. “It wasn’t my fault, Tony.” 

 

“No, I get that,” Tony replies. “Are you guys safe?” 

 

“We are,” Natasha says. “For now.” 

 

“Then what the hell happened?” Tony demands.  

 

Slowly, in fits and starts, Steve fills them all in on what had happened from the time that Jennifer had left his apartment the night Bruce visited. 

 

Jennifer notices that he stumbles a little bit over what Armin Zola had told them about Hydra’s activities when they found the underground lair. Natasha breaks in smoothly and finishes the story, and Jennifer is pretty sure she has more questions than they have answers. 

 

“That helps,” Bruce says at the end. 

 

“Helps with what?” Natasha asks. 

 

“We’ve been operating under the assumption that there was a mole in SHIELD, when in reality there was a shadow organization,” Bruce says. “We can take the gloves off.” 

 

Tony hums his agreement. “Not to mention the fact that now that we know what we’re looking for, it’s going to be a hell of a lot easier to find it.” He pauses. “Wait a minute, who’s the new guy?” 

 

“Tony, Bruce, this is Sam,” Jennifer says. “Sam, Bruce and Tony.” 

 

“What’s up?” Sam says. 

 

Tony’s voice sharpens. “This your boyfriend, Jen?” 

 

“None of your business,” Jennifer replies pertly. “So, what do we think?” 

 

“I think something big is going down because Pierce isn’t trying to hide things now,” Tony replies. “The fact that Steve is wanted is all over the news.” 

 

“What’s he wanted for?” Sam asks. 

 

Bruce says, “He’s wanted in connection with Fury’s death, as well as withholding evidence.” 

 

“Hardly a reason to put a shoot to kill order on him,” Jennifer objects. 

 

“There isn’t,” Bruce replies. “Or at least there isn’t among anybody who isn’t a high level SHIELD agent.” 

 

Tony nods. “Look, let us work on things on our end. We can dig more aggressively, and we can figure out how to trigger those safeguards we put on the helicarriers.” 

 

“We have some ideas for our end of things, too,” Natasha says. “Be careful. We have no reason to believe that the two of you won’t be targeted.” 

 

“You do the same,” Bruce says, looking directly at Jennifer. “I know you think you’re invulnerable, but we don’t know what SHIELD has on us right now.” 

 

“Got it,” Jennifer replies. 

 

“Stay in touch,” Tony orders and ends the call. 

 

Silence falls, and Sam finally says, “Well, that was certainly something.” 

 

“Look, Sam, we can’t thank you enough, but we can’t ask any more of you,” Steve begins awkwardly. 

 

Sam gives him an incredulous look. “Are you kidding me? You haven’t seen what I can do for you. Just wait right here.” 

 

There’s another awkward pause when Sam leaves the room, and Steve says, “So, you guys, huh?” 

 

“We had a very nice evening,” Jennifer says primly.  

 

Steve appears incredibly uncomfortable, and Natasha just seems amused. “Maybe you should give Steve a lesson on picking up a date,” she says. 

 

“One success story does not a player make,” Jennifer says. “Besides, Steve basically was my wingman.” 

 

“I was?” Steve asks even as Sam reappears. 

 

“Oh, you totally were,” Sam agrees. “Hot chick running with Captain America? I _had_ to know more.” He drops a file folder on the table. “You could maybe call that my resume.” 

 

Steve flips it open, and Jennifer reads it upside down, and what she reads makes her grin fiercely. “That looks like _fun_.” 

 

Sam laughs. “You have no idea.” 

 

 

Bruce has to admit that he’s a little worried. As far as he knows, SHIELD—or Hydra—still has the chemical composition for the drug used to take him down, and that same drug could presumably be used on Jennifer and have the same effect.  

 

“Okay, okay,” Tony mutters. “Aggressive hacking. Does anybody _say_ hacking these days?” 

 

“You just did,” Bruce points out. 

 

“True, and I am a genius, therefore it’s definitely still a word.” Tony’s fingers fly over the keyboard. “One problem.” 

 

“What’s that?” Bruce asks. 

 

Tony lets out a groan. “Pretty sure they found my bug. It’s been isolated. We need someone on the inside.” 

 

Bruce gives him a look. “There’s just one small problem with that—as far as we know, there’s no one at SHIELD we can trust other than the people who are currently being hunted.” 

 

Tony cracks his knuckles. “Not necessarily. There’s one person who’s out of the way and presumably still has SHIELD access.” 

 

Bruce frowns. “You mean Clint.” 

 

“I’m calling him,” Tony announces. 

 

Bruce grimaces. “Maybe we shouldn’t. He’s out of this right now. Why pull him in?” 

 

“Bruce, buddy, you’re not thinking big picture here,” Tony says. 

 

“Enlighten me.” 

 

“The Avengers were Fury’s pet project, nominally under the direction of SHIELD, as was every other SHIELD agent,” Tony says. “If the Avengers, as a team, survive this, we’re not going to answer to anyone, because there’s no one to answer to. And the same goes for every SHIELD agent who isn’t a Hydra asshole, which includes Natasha and Clint.” 

 

Bruce has to admit he hadn’t thought of that, but Tony makes a compelling argument. “So, what? We form our own team?” 

 

“Why not?” Tony asks. “We could be our own bosses. I’m starting to trust the others, but we’re not going to know who in SHIELD we can trust for a long time to come.” 

 

“If SHIELD even survives as an organization,” Bruce says. “Which is doubtful at this point, unless Hydra completely takes over.” 

 

Tony blows out a breath. “All the more reason to get Clint here. If nothing else, we might need his help with cleanup.” 

 

“I’ll call him,” Bruce offers.  

 

He dials Clint’s number and waits for the response. “Dr. Banner, what can I do for you today?” 

 

“We need you, Clint,” Bruce says. “We’ve got a situation, and we need to infiltrate the Triskelion.” 

 

There’s a pause. “Yeah, I’ve been keeping up with the news. Have you heard from Cap?” 

 

“He’s safe, and he’s with Natasha and Jennifer,” Bruce replies. “They’re working on their own thing, but we’re pulling the team together.” 

 

Clint sighs. “Yeah, I kind of figured. Look, I can’t just board a flight.” 

 

“We’ll send the jet for you,” Bruce replies. “We just need you to help us mount an offensive.” 

 

“Sure thing, doc,” Clint replies. “You need me, I’m there. I’ll be flying out of Des Moines.” 

 

“Thanks, Clint. I’ll text you the details.” Bruce hangs up. “We need to get a plug and play program ready to go. We can’t trust that we’ll be able to stop the launch of the helicarriers from offsite like we planned.” 

 

Tony nods. “One step ahead of you, Big Guy. I’m working on the code now.” 

 

Bruce runs a hand through his hair. “You know this isn’t going to be good, Tony.” 

 

“Call Matty,” Tony orders. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but we’re going to need a good PR person if we’re going to keep the Avengers clean.” 

 

Bruce nods. “Got it.” 

 

“I’ve been waiting for your call,” Matty says when he answers. “Do you need me at the Tower?” 

 

“I think it might be for the best,” Bruce says. “We can coordinate from here. What’s the chatter like?” 

 

“Well, people really like Captain America, so most folks seem to think it was a mistake,” Matty replies. “There’s a ton of confusion, but we can make that work for us. We just have to provide them with the right information.” 

 

Bruce breathes a sigh of relief. “Great. When you get here, we’ll coordinate with Jennifer and the others.” 

 

He hangs up and his phone chimes with an alert, and he sees Jennifer’s text message. “Wings liberated, heading to question Sitwell now. Think he might be dirty.” 

 

“Wings?” Bruce texts back. 

 

“Turns out, Sam can fly,” Jennifer replies. “Talk soon.” 

 

“They’re going to question a SHIELD agent they think might be Hydra,” Bruce reports. “Matty’s on his way. He thinks we have a chance to turn this around.” 

 

“We’d better,” Tony replies. “Because if nothing else we know that Hydra is going to cause a big problem, and we’re probably going to be the only people with half a chance at stopping it.” 

 

Bruce frowns. “Speaking of, SHIELD has a ton of weapons and other artifacts, including artifacts from the battle with the Chitauri.” 

 

“Good thinking,” Tony says. “We need to make a list of things we should locate ASAP.” 

 

Bruce can think of a few things. “I’ll start, you can add to it, and maybe once we get into SHIELD, we’ll be able to come up with a complete list.” 

 

Matty arrives about twenty minutes later with a Stark pad and a determined expression. “All right, we can’t go public with what you know about Steve yet, because that’s just going to bring the fire down on you. What we need is to prepare a statement, so we can be first to address the events, whatever they may be.” 

 

“First rule is that the Avengers present a united front to the world,” Tony insists. “Whatever our differences, we don’t let the public see them.” 

 

“Agreed,” Matty says, taking notes. “Anything else?” 

 

“The Avengers exist separately from SHIELD,” Bruce says. “And we’ve known for some time there were problems, but we were hoping to solve them without bloodshed or collateral damage.” 

 

Matty nods. “Good. That’s good.” 

 

“We’re going to be working diligently to root out anyone who wishes to undermine democracy, etc.,” Tony says absently. “Bruce, come look at my code and see if you can see any holes.” 

 

Bruce has picked up quite a bit about coding since taking up with Tony, and while he’s never going to be able to match Tony’s genius with AIs, he can tweak a Trojan with the best of them. “Hmm, I think we need to exploit whatever vulnerability we can.” 

 

“Agreed,” Tony says. “What were you thinking?” 

 

Bruce points out a line of code. “We can disrupt their communications, and create our own backdoor. There have to be SHIELD agents who aren’t Hydra and might need some help.” 

 

“So, we keep Hydra from communicating with each other to give them a chance to go to ground?” Tony asks. 

 

“And then we make it known that Stark Industries is looking for a few good men or women,” Bruce says. “We put them through a polygraph, mine SHIELD’s data, and start eliminating threats.” 

 

“I like the way you think,” Tony says. “Devious.” 

 

Bruce shrugs. “Being on the run for years means you pick up a few things about flying under the radar.” 

 

Matty clears his throat. “Pepper warned me about this.” 

 

“About what?” Tony asks sharply. 

 

“She said that sometimes being with the two of you feels like you’ve entered a world where it’s just you two, and everybody else is just visiting,” Matty says. “Not that it’s a knock on you guys. It’s great you’re so close.” 

 

Bruce laughs. “That’s one of the hesitations Fury had with recommending us for the Avengers Initiative. He thought we were too tight.” 

 

Matty shakes his head. “You find the love of your life, you hang onto them, and then you alter the shape of the world if you need to in order to make it work. The way I see it, that’s exactly what you did.” 

 

 

Events are moving along rather swiftly at this point. Steve, Natasha, Jennifer, and their new friend are working on getting information on Pierce from a dirty SHIELD agent. Bruce goes over the beginning draft of their press release for when things are a little more settled, and Tony is talking to Clint about the best way to plant their device. 

 

“I don’t want to alert anyone to our presence,” Tony says. “And SHIELD apparently thinks you’re still in BFE.” 

 

“I wish,” Clint mutters. “It’s not a big deal. I spent a lot of time in the Triskelion, and I know the air ducts like the back of my hand.” 

 

Tony stares at him. “You’re not serious.” 

 

Clint stares back. 

 

“You _are_ ,” Tony says. “Why the air ducts?” 

 

“Misspent childhood,” Clint replies. “Best place to hide is somewhere no one ever looks.” 

 

“Air ducts are perfect,” Bruce pipes up. “If you can fit, nobody even notices the vent covers most of the time.” 

 

Tony blinks. “I had no idea you were familiar with air ducts, Bruce.” 

 

“Passing familiarity only,” Bruce replies. “Mostly in middle school. Before I built a bomb in the school’s basement and got contacted by the FBI and CIA.” 

 

“Hardcore,” Clint comments. 

 

Bruce shrugs and turns to Matty, but there’s a chime and Jennifer’s face appears on the screen. “Hey, guys,” she says. “I’ve got news.” 

 

“Let’s hear it,” Bruce says. 

 

Jennifer lets out a breath. “Okay, so do you want the bad news, or the good news?” 

 

“Let’s start with the bad news,” Bruce replies. 

 

“Hydra has completely infiltrated SHIELD—which I guess we knew—and is planning on using the helicarriers to kill anyone they perceive as a present or future threat based on an algorithm that Zola cooked up,” Jennifer says succinctly. 

 

Bruce glances at Tony then asks, “What’s the good news?” 

 

Jennifer smiles brightly. “Bruce Banner is at the top of the list for threats to SHIELD, as well as someone named Stephen Strange, at least according to Sitwell. Say hi, Jasper.” 

 

She rotates the phone so that they can see Sitwell’s face, and Tony thinks he looks vaguely familiar. He also looks nauseous. 

 

“Pretty sure that we’re all on the list,” Jennifer adds, turning the camera back to her face. “As we all suspected. But yay us for not being Hydra!” 

 

Tony grins, and Bruce and Matty both laugh. There’s just something about Jennifer that’s cheering, no matter the situation.  

 

“What’s the next step?” Clint asks. 

 

“Hey, Clint!” Jennifer says cheerfully. “Heading towards the Triskelion now to try to break in.” 

 

“Forget that,” Bruce orders. “Clint’s going in to get the information we need. I suggest you lay low for a while.” 

 

“Do we have time for that?” Steve asks. 

 

Tony says, “We’d better hope so, because we can shut down those helicarriers before they even get off the ground. That means saved lives and way less property damage.” 

 

There’s a scream off camera and Jennifer drops the phone, which makes the picture rotate crazily. “Jen!” Bruce shouts. 

 

“We’re under attack!” Jennifer says. “Call you when I can!” 

 

And the phone goes dead. 

 

Tony glances at Clint. “You have to leave now.” 

 

Clint nods. “I’m gone.” He holds up the flash drive with the plug and play program and taps his earbud. “Great tech, guys. Talk to you later.” 

 

Matty is typing frantically. “If we can make sure that most of the property damage is caused by Hydra, we’re going to be in even better shape.” 

 

Tony grins, and he knows it’s all teeth. “Oh, I think that’s doable.” 

 

 

Pepper still hasn’t heard from Phil, and with the news that Steve is wanted by SHIELD, she’s worried. She’s in LA after her presentation in Navarro, reviewing reports from the various departments, as well as the analysis for future market trends.  

 

Knowing where to direct SI’s resources is part and parcel of her job as CEO, and while she’s good at it, it’s also the most stressful aspect.  

 

Hundreds of people depend on her to make the right decisions, and direct the company. Stark Industries has plenty of competition, companies that are setting new trends. It’s her job to ensure that SI not only keeps up, but excels. 

 

And that job is complicated by the fact that her CTO and her VP of special projects are superheroes with competing priorities. 

 

Her phone rings, and she’s hoping it’s Phil, but Tony’s name is on the screen. “What’s up?” 

 

“We have a situation brewing,” Tony replies, looking grim. “You’re still in LA, right?” 

 

Pepper nods. “Until tomorrow, when I plan on flying back to New York.” 

 

“I need you to stay in LA,” Tony replies. “Something is going down at SHIELD, and you’re safer where you are.” 

 

Pepper frowns. “Tony, I haven’t heard from Phil yet.” 

 

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Tony replies, sounding evasive. 

 

“What exactly is going on at SHIELD?” Pepper demands. 

 

Tony sighs audibly. “It’s been infiltrated by Hydra, apparently since its inception, and now they’re making their move to take over.” 

 

“You don’t think Phil is Hydra,” Pepper says. 

 

“Of course not,” Tony replies. “In fact, I think that’s one of the reasons Fury gave Agent his own team, because he could be trusted absolutely.” 

 

Pepper nods. “Are you safe?” 

 

“Bruce and I are staying in New York,” Tony replies. “Jennifer is in D.C. with Steve and Natasha working on the problem from that end.” 

 

“And what exactly are you planning on doing?” Pepper asks. 

 

“We’re going to shut it down,” Tony replies. “And I’m not clear on all the details right now.” 

 

Pepper sighs. “Be careful, Tony.” 

 

“Always,” Tony replies. “Keep your head down, Pep, and let me know if you hear from Coulson.” 

 

Pepper hesitates when she gets off the phone, knowing that Phil will probably be in the middle of things. He hasn’t called her back yet, and probably for good reason, but she’s more worried than ever after Tony’s call. 

 

She picks up the phone again and dials Phil’s number, disappointed but not surprised when it goes straight to voicemail again. “Phil, it’s me,” she says. “Please call when you can.” 

 

Pepper is torn once again, knowing that all of her friends are in danger, when she’s safely in Los Angeles, running a multi-million dollar business.  

 

But she still has people counting on her, she has a responsibility to them—and she’s doing what she can to change the world for the better. 

 

 

 

Bruce really doesn’t like the fact that Jennifer is D.C., running around chasing Hydra agents while he’s in New York, but he agrees with the decision. They don’t need the Hulk, and Jennifer has better control than he does while green. 

 

Of course, once they lose contact, Bruce wants nothing more than to head out. 

 

“We can’t,” Tony says, for once the voice of reason. “I know you want to go down there and track them down, but that plays right into Hydra’s hands, and you know it.” 

 

Bruce runs a hand through his hair. “I know. I get it, but I don’t have to like it. Jarvis, keep trying Jennifer’s phone.” 

 

“Of course, Dr. Banner,” Jarvis replies. 

 

“God, I hate this,” Bruce mutters. “There’s literally nothing we can do right now, is there?” 

 

Tony shakes his head. “Clint has the program, and he’ll be inside SHIELD HQ in another couple of hours. Jennifer is with Steve and Natasha, and they’ll look after each other.” 

 

Bruce knows Tony is right, but this is the first time the two of them haven’t been in the middle of things when something big is going down. 

 

He tries to find something to keep his mind occupied, but all he can do is pace. Tony watches him and says, “I can think of something that might relax you.” 

 

Bruce shakes his head. “After. We don’t know when they’ll call.” 

 

He can’t settle, and Tony doesn’t try to force it, although he does remark, “If you work yourself up too much, we’re going to have another problem on our hands.” 

 

“I’m not close,” Bruce replies, and then stops and takes a few deep breaths. “But I get what you’re saying.” He gives Tony a sharp look. “How are you doing? I know your dad was one of the founding members of SHIELD.” 

 

Tony shakes his head. “I’m fine. I can’t help but think it would kill my dad if he knew. If he weren’t already dead, that is. And I also have to wonder why the hell SHIELD would recruit someone like Zola in the first place.” 

 

Bruce is all too familiar with the story. “For the same reason the Allies gave amnesty to a number of Nazi scientists after the war: because they had knowledge we wanted to help us win the arms race.” 

 

“Sounds like dear old dad,” Tony mutters bitterly. “Anything to get ahead on building weapons. Funny how the person responsible for building Stark Industries’ deadliest weapons was me.” 

 

“You got out of that business,” Bruce replies. “Don’t put yourself in the same category as Zola.” 

 

“Yeah, well, who gave SHIELD the technology to build better helicarriers?” Tony counters. 

 

Bruce steps close to him, pulling him into a hug. “And we built safeguards, which wouldn’t be there if we hadn’t helped. Our original reasons for providing SHIELD with the repulsor technology still stand.” 

 

“If Barton can’t get that program loaded—” 

 

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Bruce interrupts. “Barton is good.” 

 

Tony shakes his head. “If Fury could see us now, he might be impressed. We’re actually acting like team players.” 

 

“We probably better get used to it,” Bruce says wryly. “We’re going to need them.” 

 

Jarvis says, “You have an incoming call from a blocked number, Dr. Banner.” 

 

Bruce glances at Tony and says, “Put it through, Jarvis.” 

 

Jennifer’s face appears on screen. She has a smudge of dirt on her cheek and a smear of blood on the side of her neck. “Hey, guys. Before you ask, we’re fine. Natasha has a bullet hole in her shoulder, but she’s going to be fine, and the rest of us are okay. Including…” She turns the phone around, and Fury glowers at the camera. “Say hello to Director Fury.” 

 

“Why am I not surprised?” Tony asks. “Where are you guys?” 

 

“A safe house,” Fury replies. “Pierce is going to use the helicarriers to kill hundreds of thousands of people if we don’t stop him.” 

 

Tony grins. “Barton is making his way inside to upload a program that will keep the helicarriers from getting underway. He’s maybe an hour out.” 

 

“How sure are we that this computer program will work?” Hill asks. 

 

“About as sure as we can be,” Bruce replies. “At least until it actually does the job.” 

 

“We need a backup plan,” Steve says quietly. “A way to take Pierce down, and expose Hydra.” 

 

Jennifer rotates the camera back around. “As you can see, we’re really busy here.” 

 

“What’s the plan?” Tony asks. 

 

“We take SHIELD down,” Steve says. “We shine a light on everything.” 

 

“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Fury begins. 

 

“With all due respect, Director, this was going on right under your nose, and you didn’t see it,” Steve snaps. “I’m sure it was part of your compartmentalization.” 

 

Bruce gets the feeling that there’s a lot more going on under the surface. “What are we talking about here?” 

 

“We dump everything,” Steve says. “We expose all of SHIELD’s secrets.” 

 

Bruce exchanges an alarmed look with Tony. “I don’t disagree,” Bruce begins. “But there’s a lot of information that SHIELD has that would be disastrous if released. SHIELD agents who are currently undercover and aren’t Hydra, proprietary information on the helicarriers, specifically the repulsor technology, the chemical composition of the drug used to take me down. I could go on.” 

 

“What other choice do we have?” Steve demands.  

 

Tony scrubs his hands over his face. “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. You’re going to dump everything out on the internet, and we’re going to run interference. Who’s doing the dumping?” 

 

“Me,” Natasha says. “I’m impersonating one of the members of the World Security Council. We know they’re coming into town to meet with Pierce.” 

 

Tony nods. “I’m going to send you a data package with an encryption tool. That should delay people long enough for us to scrub information that could be dangerous in the hands of the public.” 

 

“We have to disable SHIELD’s encryption to release the information,” Natasha protests. 

 

Tony hitches a shoulder. “Yeah, and then it gets run through my tool before it hits the wild. It will scramble the data. Someone who’s dedicated will be able to unscramble it, but we’ll have a shot at saving some lives.” 

 

Bruce thinks it’s probably the best option out of a lot of bad ones. Releasing all of SHIELD’s secrets to the world will shine a light on Hydra, which has operated too long in the dark. But it also means that they’re going to have to be especially vigilant with the information that is released. Once it’s out there, there will be no way to pull it back. 

 

“Agreed,” Steve says after a long pause. “What happens if your program doesn’t disable the helicarriers?” 

 

“We have our own blades to replace the targeting system on the helicarriers,” Hill says. “If they get off the ground, we have a Plan B.” 

 

Tony grimaces. “You’re talking about the helicarriers retargeting the others, which is a _terrible_ plan.” 

 

“We can’t leave them in Hydra’s hands,” Fury grumbles. 

 

“We can blow them up while they’re still on the ground,” someone—Bruce is pretty sure that was Sam, Jennifer’s new boyfriend—says. 

 

“Better,” Tony says. “All you’d really need to do would be to take out the repulsors. That would render them inoperable.” 

 

Jennifer nods. “Okay, we’re in a bit of a time crunch since Natasha needs to be in place before the meeting is scheduled, but keep me updated.” 

 

“Be careful,” Bruce says. “We’ll see you later.” 

 

Jennifer grins brightly. “Love you, cuz. Look after him, Tony.” 

 

She ends the call, and Tony cracks his knuckles. “Okay,” he says, “it looks like we’re back to work.” 

 

Bruce reminds himself that they’ve faced longer odds before and have overcome them. They’ll do the same now. 

 

 

When Steve disappears, Jennifer exchanges a look with Sam and Natasha. “I’ll go,” Jennifer volunteers. “Sam can be the voice of reason.” 

 

“Why do I have to be the voice of reason?” Sam objects. 

 

“Because you’re a soldier, and he’ll take it better from you,” Jennifer replies. “You know what it’s like to lose a battle buddy. I don’t.” 

 

Sam nods. “Fair enough.” 

 

They haven’t had a chance to talk since Sam saw her go green, and she’s not sure what he’s thinking right about now.  

 

She’s pretty sure she could have broken them out of the Hydra transport where they’d been chained up, but she’s just as happy not to have needed to do so. Technically, Jennifer could have easily evaded capture, but Natasha had been injured, and the Hydra assholes had Steve, Sam, and Natasha at gunpoint. 

 

Head Asshole’s smirk told Jennifer that he knew exactly what he was doing when he’d threatened Sam in order to force her surrender. 

 

He’s officially her _least_ favorite person in the world right now. 

 

Steve looks off into the distance as she approaches, and she suspects that wherever he is— _whenever_ he is—it’s not here and now. 

 

“Hey,” Jennifer says. 

 

Steve glances at her, pulled from his thoughts, and smiles. “How are you holding up?” 

 

“I think that’s supposed to be my line,” Jennifer replies. “I’m not a SHIELD agent, and my long lost childhood friend didn’t just show up as a brainwashed Hydra assassin. I’m just here for the ride.” 

 

Steve nods. “I appreciate that.” 

 

Jennifer leans against the railing next to him, facing the opposite direction, and decides to address the elephant in the room. “Did I misread the signals, Steve?” 

 

Steve shakes his head, and doesn’t pretend not to understand what she’s asking. “Natasha’s been on my case to ask someone out.” 

 

“And you’re not ready.” 

 

“I just saw Peggy the other day,” Steve admits. “I know she was married, and she has kids, but sometimes it’s like no time at all has passed.” 

 

Jennifer is quiet for a long moment. “I don’t think there’s a time frame on grief. We don’t stop loving people just because time has passed, or they’ve changed. I know that better than just about anybody.” 

 

“Bruce isn’t an internationally wanted assassin,” Steve replies wryly.  

 

Jennifer shrugs. “Maybe, but it seems to me that your friend has about as much control over that as Bruce had over becoming the Hulk. I’m just saying, as your friend, I have your back.” 

 

“Thanks,” Steve replies. “And as your friend, I just want you to be happy.” 

 

Jennifer nods. “Good luck out there today.” 

 

“You too,” Steve replies. He looks past her to see Sam approaching. “Are you two tag-teaming me?”  

 

She smiles. “Well, we figured Natasha had better get some rest with that shoulder wound, and Fury and Hill aren’t really the pep talk sorts. Plus, I wanted to be sure we’re okay.” 

 

Steve nudges her shoulder with his. “We’re good.” 

 

She wishes she knew for sure that she and Sam were okay, too, but then Sam grabs her hand as she passes and squeezes quickly. It’s a brief gesture, but comforting, as is the smile he flashes her. 

 

Jennifer enters their hideout, grateful that they’d had some clothing in her size, although she’s not entirely comfortable in the black fatigues that SHIELD commandoes apparently wear. Still, it’s a hell of a lot better than the shorts and crop top she’d been left with after the fight with the Winter Soldier. 

 

“You were impressive out there today,” Natasha says when Jennifer sits next to her. “I would never have known you didn’t have any formal combat training.” 

 

Jennifer shrugs off the compliment. “When you’re a Hulk, formal training is kind of the icing on a really green cake. Bullets bounce off you and smashing the bad guys is second nature.” 

 

“Still,” Natasha replies. 

 

Jennifer shifts. “How are you going to pull off impersonating Councilwoman Hawley?” 

 

Natasha smiles. “Something Stark cooked up. It’s a mask that lets you take on the face of another person. With a wig and a change of accent, no one will know the difference.” 

 

“And the real councilwoman?” 

 

Natasha shrugs. “We’ll hold onto her until we’re sure she’s not Hydra.” 

 

Jennifer’s phone chimes, and she glances down to see a text message from Bruce. “Clint’s at the Triskelion. Infiltration has been successful so far.” 

 

“Clint’s inside,” Jennifer announces. “Everything is going well so far.” 

 

“Good,” Fury says. “Ms. Walters, you don’t have to be a part of this if you’d rather leave.” 

 

Jennifer shakes her head. “No, no way. I’m in the middle of things now, and I want to see it through. I _really_ want another shot at Head Asshole guy.” 

 

Hill’s lips twitch at that. “Head Asshole?” 

 

“You know,” Jennifer replies holding out a hand. “About so tall, dark hair, scruffy, bad attitude. Head Asshole.” 

 

Natasha chuckles. “She means Brock Rumlow.” 

 

“He is my least favorite person right now,” Jennifer confirms. 

 

“He’s on my shit list, too,” Fury says. “But we have to deal with Pierce. Cut off the head of a snake, and you solve the problem.” 

 

Jennifer doesn’t think it’s going to be that easy. As a kid, she’d liked Greek mythology, and she knows the legend of the hydra—cut off one head, and two more grow in its place. She suspects that the choice of name hadn’t been accidental, and this conspiracy goes deep, and probably pretty high up. 

 

“Where do you want me?” Jennifer asks. 

 

Natasha frowns. “If Clint is still in the Triskelion when you arrive, I would suggest getting to the launch room. Hydra will want to control it.” 

 

“We’ll need to turn the tide,” Steve says as he enters. “Some of those people are still good agents who are just looking for a leader. If we can get them on our side, we’ll have an easier time identifying those working for SHIELD.” 

 

Jennifer glances down at her fatigues. “Shouldn’t I get changed?” 

 

“Probably,” Steve replies. “I need to get into uniform, too.” 

 

Jennifer raises an eyebrow. “Isn’t your uniform under lock and key right now?” 

 

“The Smithsonian will be easier to break into than Fort Meade was,” Steve replies. 

 

Jennifer nods. “That gives me time to get into something that will let me fly under the radar.” 

 

“They’ll be watching your hotel room,” Natasha points out. 

 

“Who says I’m going back to the hotel?” Jennifer counters. “I have a change of clothes at Sam’s place.” 

 

Sam smirks. “Smart thinking. I wondered why you insisted on stopping by the hotel first on our way out of town.” 

 

“That’s the thing about going green,” Jennifer replies. “It’s always a good idea to have multiple stashes of clothing in various locations. We can be pretty hard on clothes.” 

 

Sam fishes a key out of his pocket. “You want someone to go with you?” 

 

Jennifer shakes her head. “Better not. They won’t expect me to go back to your place, but they might be looking for you. I’ll go in the back way.” 

 

“Be careful,” Natasha says. “You might be bullet proof, but we don’t know if Hydra has something that could take you out of commission.” 

 

Jennifer nods. “I’m aware.” 

 

In a way, it’s a relief to be alone after the last few days being surrounded constantly by other people. Hill drives her to the nearest Metro station, and Jennifer rides it to the station closest to Sam’s house. 

 

If it hadn’t been broad daylight, Jennifer probably would have transformed and run the distance from the station to his house, but she doesn’t want to risk being seen, and she looks plenty suspicious in her black fatigues. 

 

So, she changes in the women’s restroom at the station, shoving the fatigue pants into the garbage and sticking with her bike shorts and black t-shirt. With her hair pulled back, she looks like any other jogger, and Jennifer has been working out. 

 

She can run a six-minute mile, even when she’s not green, and she has excellent stamina. Jennifer takes a short cut through a couple of backyards and lets herself into Sam’s house by the backdoor. 

 

Her suit and heels are where she’d left them what felt like days ago now, and she’s grateful that she’d insisted on stopping back by her hotel for a quick shower and change of clothes on their way to Ft. Meade.  

 

She cleans up quickly and pulls on her clothing. It could probably stand to be cleaned, and it’s a little wrinkled, but with her hair pulled back into a sophisticated twist, no one is going to look too closely at her. 

 

Jennifer calls a cab and has them meet her a couple of doors down, and gives the driver the address to the Triskelion. 

 

“At HQ,” she texts Bruce. 

 

“Data uploaded,” he texts back. 

 

That bug is going to be super helpful before it’s all over, Jennifer thinks, and strides right inside. She catches sight of Clint walking toward her. He’s wearing black fatigues, and appears so nondescript she probably wouldn’t have noticed him if she hadn’t been looking for him. 

 

He brushes against her, and when Jennifer reaches the security checkpoint, she produces a keycard from her pocket with a flourish. Her retinal scan and fingerprints match the name on the pass, an Agent Coolidge, and Jennifer stifles a sigh of relief. 

 

Jennifer strides confidently down the halls, remembering the instructions Natasha and Fury had given her. 

 

The launch of Project Insight is a big deal—big enough that the World Security Council is present, and that random SHIELD agents will likely drift into the room just to observe. 

 

Jennifer takes up a station at the back of the room, blinking when she sees one of the agents, realizing that she’s the woman living across the hall from Steve. They’d run into each other a couple of times while Jennifer had been visiting. 

 

She wonders if the woman had been spying for Fury, or for Hydra. 

 

The launch is going as planned so far, but they haven’t tried firing up the helicarriers, and Jennifer knows that’s going to be the moment of truth. She sees a number of black-clad men enter and catches sight of someone up above on the catwalk, and sees that it’s Clint. 

 

Suddenly, Steve’s voice comes over the PA, urging SHIELD agents to take a stand against Hydra, telling them that they could still make a difference, that they could follow him and know their cause is righteous. 

 

Jennifer isn’t really listening; instead, she’s watching the people in the room, trying to judge who’s going to be on their side, and who might turn on them. 

 

Rumlow strides over to the poor kid who’s supposed to be inputting the launch codes, his gun drawn. “Those ships are getting off the ground.” 

 

“No,” the kid says, holding up trembling hands. “I won’t.” 

 

“Leave him alone,” Steve’s neighbor orders, pulling a weapon of her own and holding it at Rumlow's head. 

 

In a few minutes, Jennifer knows this is going to erupt in a firefight, and she’s torn on whether she should intervene to prevent the launch, or to let it go forward and hope like hell Bruce and Tony’s bug works as planned. 

 

And then she figures that beating up Head Asshole is pleasure enough in itself. 

 

Rumlow moves, disarming the blonde as they grapple. The kid who’s supposed to be doing the launch dives for cover as shots ring out. Jennifer feels herself go green, but there are a couple of guys she has to disable before she can get to Rumlow. 

 

In that amount of time, Rumlow manages to input the launch codes himself, and the helicarriers begin lift-off. Jennifer is pretty sure that’s _not_ a good thing, and she knows Steve and Sam will be working to replace the blades to the targeting system. 

 

Jennifer swears fiercely and transforms, ripping through her suit jacket and shirt, and then through her skirt.  

 

And really, she needs to work on a slightly more modest outfit, although that probably won’t work so well under her suits. 

 

Maybe she could get Tony to foot her clothing bill. 

 

She pushes those thoughts out of her head and bears down on Rumlow, having the absolute pleasure of punching him right in his smug face. “Say hello to darkness, my old friend,” she quips. 

 

Rumlow goes down, and then pops right back up again like the total jerk he is. “You might not want to give up your day job, girlie.” 

 

“Fun fact!” Jennifer says. “I _hate_ it when people call me that.” 

 

Rumlow might be able to take a lot of punishment, but he’s never faced a Hulk, and Jennifer is only too happy to go head-to-head with him. She doesn’t hold back, and when he’s a bloody mess on the floor, she takes a deep breath as the anger recedes, although she stays green. 

 

“Remind me not to make you mad,” Clint comments, standing behind her. “We need your help clearing out some of the rabble while Steve takes care of the Winter Soldier.” 

 

“The helicarriers?” Jennifer asks, and then _feels_ the ground tremble and hears an explosion. 

 

“I think that would be the helicarriers,” Clint quips. “Right on time.” 

 

Jennifer nods and glances at Steve’s neighbor. “Jennifer Walters. Nice to meet you officially.” 

 

“Sharon Carter,” she replies. “Or Agent Thirteen if you prefer.” 

 

“Good to put a name to the face,” Jennifer replies. “Clint, point the way.” 

 

She jogs out after him, leaving Agent Thirteen and a few others to clean up in the launch room. “How bad is it?” 

 

“No idea,” Clint admits. “But at least those damn deathships didn’t get more than a hundred feet off the ground.” 

 

“Is that what we’re calling them now?” Jennifer asks, her voice deeper than usual. 

 

Clint shrugs. “If the shoe fits,” and then hands her an earbud. 

 

The Hydra agents are desperate; they know they’re fighting for their lives, and Jennifer is right in the thick of it. 

 

Jennifer feels alive during cross-examination and during opening and closing arguments, which is the closest she can come to being in a battle when she’s not actually being shot at. And yet, right now, the drama in the courtroom has nothing on _this_. 

 

Steve and Sam don’t have coms, so she has no idea how they’re doing, and she follows Clint’s lead for lack of a better option. 

 

Jennifer sees a new wave of Hydra agents approaching them as they head for the Quinjets, hoping to keep them from making their move. 

 

It looks like she has her work cut out for her. 

 

 

Tony has set up an extensive communications system, and Clint has specific instructions to keep them informed. They have no idea how things are going with Natasha and Fury, or if his program is going to work. 

 

And then Clint says, “The deathships are off the ground.” 

 

“Did you call them that?” Bruce whispers. 

 

Tony shrugs. “That’s all Clint. And we expected that, Clint. The program should render the repulsors useless in about five minutes. It takes time for the cascading failure to take effect.” 

 

 “She-Hulk is currently kicking Rumlow's ass,” Clint adds. “Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.” 

 

“Is that what we’re calling Jennifer now?” Bruce objects. “I didn’t think we were doing that.” 

 

“I’m open to other suggestions, doc,” Clint replies cheerfully. “And the launch room is secure. We’re heading out to locate Cap and Falcon now.” 

 

“Make sure you give Jen one of those spare coms,” Bruce orders. 

 

“Already done,” Jennifer’s chipper voice comes over the com. “Hey, guys. What’s up with the helicarriers?” 

 

Tony shrugs. “I had to let them get far enough off the ground to crash, but not so far that they’d be able to target anybody. Plus, the program took time to work to create a cascading failure that couldn’t be stopped.” 

 

“A little warning would have been nice,” Jennifer says sourly. “Although I really enjoyed kicking Rumlow's ass.” 

 

“How are we doing?” Bruce asks. “Do you need us there?” 

 

“Afterward, maybe,” Jennifer replies. “Right now, we’re just cleaning up.” 

 

“Any eyes on the others?” Tony asks. 

 

There’s a pause, and Clint says, “Not so far. We’ll let you know when we find Cap.” 

 

Tony turns the volume on the coms down and mutes their side. “Are you worried about Steve now?” Bruce asks with amusement. 

 

“Of course not,” Tony replies. Then he sighs and says, “Okay, so the guy is growing on me a little bit.”  

 

Bruce shrugs. “It’s probably for the best considering we’ll probably be working fairly closely with each other from here on out. Are we going to create a central location?” 

 

“There’s a place upstate that we can use,” Tony replies. “Or that we can retrofit to suit our needs. I guess we’ll have to play it by ear.” 

 

Bruce glances at the scrolling wall of text, all the information that Natasha had just dumped online. Tony can tell that the encryption tool worked, but they’re going to have to start work now. “We’d better get to work,” Bruce says, echoing his thoughts. 

 

“At least while we’re waiting for word,” Tony agrees. “And then probably for a long time after that.” He kisses Bruce hard. “One for the road.” 

 

He turns up the volume on the coms again, although he keeps their side muted, just so they can keep an ear out. The reams of data coming out of SHIELD will need to be decrypted, sifted through, and the information acted upon if necessary. Figuring out what to do with all of that is going to be a full time job, and Tony already has two. 

 

Bruce has his own methods, and he’s writing a simple code that will flag information and files as they’re decrypted to hopefully make their lives a little easier. 

 

“Uh, guys?” Jennifer calls. “I think we have things under control here, but we can’t find Captain America.” 

 

Tony frowns. “Where was he last?” 

 

“Last seen leaping onto one of the helicarriers before it went down,” Clint explains. “In pursuit of the Winter Soldier.” 

 

“Who—fun fact!—is actually Steve’s childhood friend, Bucky Barnes,” Jennifer adds. “So, he might want to save Steve or kill him, flip a coin. I’m betting on kill with his general murderousness.” 

 

“Is that actually a word?” Clint asks. 

 

Jennifer huffs in exasperation. “It’s a word, _Hawkeye_ , and we’re looking for Steve. Tony, you got anything for us?” 

 

Tony decides that it’s probably bad form to give Jennifer a hard time right now, so he fires up the satellite imaging. Two of the three helicarriers are still completely on solid ground, but the third is half in the Potomac. 

 

“Which helicarrier was Steve on?” Tony asks. 

 

“Last we heard, the one that wound up in the river,” Clint replies. 

 

Tony nods. “All right, give me a minute to get thermal imaging.” 

 

That sort of thing doesn’t come standard on satellites, but Tony hasn’t survived this long without bringing his A game to every situation. His drones are modeled after Fitz’s little bots, and were originally built in case of a Hulk-emergency. He doesn’t want another situation like they’d had in South Africa. 

 

Steve might not emit gamma radiation, but if he’s still alive, he does run a couple of degrees warmer, so he should show up just fine on the infrared scanner, since Bruce does too. 

 

“Down the bank,” Tony says when he sees the still figure on the scanner. “About a hundred yards south of you.” 

 

“Got it,” Jennifer replies. “I swear, that man is so much trouble.” 

 

Tony smirks at Bruce. “I really do love her.” 

 

“Good thing you’re her honorary brother-slash-cousin,” Bruce replies. 

 

“Okay, we got him!” Jennifer says about five minutes later. “He’s been shot a couple of times, but I think he’s going to be fine.” 

 

“The Winter Soldier?” Clint asks. 

 

Jennifer sighs audibly. “If I have to guess, he’s in the wind.” 

 

“I’m calling EMS,” Sam says. “Stay with him.” 

 

“Going not-green,” Jennifer replies. “Bruce, Tony, I think we’re okay here. I’ll call you as soon as we know more.” 

 

“Be careful,” Bruce advises. “Let us know if you need anything.” 

 

“See you soon,” Jennifer promises. “I’ll be heading back as soon as I reasonably can. Assuming I have a job to return to after recent events.” 

 

“I’d hire you in a heart beat,” Tony replies. “And you know it. If you need me to have a word with your boss—” 

 

“No, that’s fine,” Jennifer replies. “It’s about liability, and if they decide they can’t keep me, I’ll let you know.” 

 

Bruce smiles. “It will be good to have you home, Jen.” 

 

“Love you, too,” Jennifer replies. 

 

They close the com signals, and Bruce says, “How are we going to get through the workload, Tony? I know we’ve been putting off hiring an assistant or two, but there’s no way we can hire the help we need in the amount of time that we have.” 

 

Tony knows Bruce is right, and then he grins. “Bruce, buddy, we don’t have to worry about that.” 

 

“Why not?” Bruce asks. 

 

“Because SHIELD is going under, which means there are going to be plenty of decent people who will be out of a job,” Tony replies. “And with the appropriate polygraphs and other security measures, we can hire _them_.” 

 

A matching smile crosses Bruce’s face. “Well, you are the genius.” 

 

“We both are,” Tony replies. 

 

 

Pepper hears from Bruce that SHIELD has fallen, and they’ve cleaned things up in D.C. She still hasn’t heard from Phil, however, and she’s starting to get worried. 

 

Phil’s team works off the grid, but he’d pulled his team members from others at SHIELD. Fitz and Simmons are clean, she has no doubt about it. But there are two others, and either of them could have been Hydra. 

 

From what Bruce has said, they have SHIELD’s files, but they’re encrypted, and they’re sifting through all of it for information on Hydra. Pepper doesn’t feel as though she has grounds to ask them to look for something that could help her find Phil. 

 

And then, two days after the disaster in D.C., she gets a phone call from Phil. 

 

“Pepper,” he says, sounding so tired she aches for him. “Hey. Sorry I couldn’t call you before.” 

 

“Are you okay?” she asks. “Are you safe?” 

 

Phil lets out a sigh. “Yeah, I’m okay for the most part. Tired. I—I need to tell you that Fitz was hurt. I don’t think there’s anything Bruce or Tony can do for him, but I know they like him, and they deserve to know.” 

 

“How bad?” Pepper asks. 

 

“He’s in a coma right now,” Phil admits. “They think he’ll wake up, but they can’t be sure how much damage was done. His brain was without oxygen long enough that they’re concerned.” 

 

Pepper swallows. “I’ll let them know. They’re going to want to see him, I’m sure, and they’ll want to do whatever they can to help.” 

 

“Any help would be appreciated,” Phil admits. “We’re in rather dire straits, as you might have guessed.” 

 

Pepper breathes out. “Phil, come home. I know you have work, I know things are bad right now, but take a break. We’ll plan ways that SI can help you under the table if necessary.” 

 

“I’ll be there soon,” Phil promises. “I have a few things I need to set in motion, and then I can join you.” 

 

“I’ll be in New York in three days’ time,” Pepper replies. “Does that work?” 

 

Phil sighs. “I’ll be there. Thank you, Pepper.” 

 

“I’m always happy to provide a respite,” Pepper says. “And if you need a job—” 

 

“I have one,” Phil cuts in, although his voice is warm, so there’s clearly no ill will created by her offer. “I have no idea how successful I’ll be, but I am gainfully employed for the present.” 

 

Pepper smiles. “Good. I’m glad for your sake, but I won’t deny that I’ve given serious consideration to the benefits of having you close.” 

 

“I wouldn’t deny that either,” Phil replies. 

 

He makes no promises, though, and Pepper doesn’t ask for any. They still don’t know what the fallout will be, but from what Bruce and Tony have said, SHIELD is unlikely to survive in its present form, and Phil probably won’t set up headquarters in a major metropolitan area. 

 

The remains of SHIELD will likely operate in secret, in the darkness, just like Hydra. 

 

“I’ll see you soon,” Pepper promises. “Send me the details on Fitz, and I’ll pass the message along to Bruce and Tony.” 

 

“See you in a few days,” Phil promises. 

 

He sends the location of the hospital where Fitz is being treated in a few minutes, and Pepper calls Bruce. “Pepper, what can I do for you?” He sounds tired, but also glad to hear from her. 

 

She knows how hard he and Tony had been working, and she hates to put one more thing on his plate, but Bruce won’t thank her for hiding the information from him. “I heard from Phil.” 

 

Bruce is silent for a long moment. “From your tone, I’m guessing the news isn’t all good.” 

 

“Fitz is in the hospital,” Pepper replies. “He’s in a coma, and Phil says they’re not sure whether he’ll recover. He was without oxygen long enough that brain damage is apparently a possibility.” 

 

“Where is he?” Bruce asks. 

 

“I’ll forward you the email Phil sent with the details,” Pepper replies. “Phil will be in town in a few days if you want to talk to him then.” 

 

“I probably will,” Bruce replies. “But I would like to see Fitz. There shouldn’t be a problem with that, right?” 

 

Pepper takes a deep breath. “No, not that Phil stated. He’s in a regular hospital.” 

 

“Thanks,” Bruce says. “Are you okay?” 

 

Pepper forces a smile, hoping that he can hear it in her voice, and doesn’t hear her sorrow or loneliness or worry. “I’m fine.” 

 

“If you’re ever not fine, tell me,” Bruce replies. “Same deal applies.” 

 

Pepper’s smile turns real. “You know, if Tony hadn’t snapped you up, I would have.” 

 

“And if Tony hadn’t taken over my entire world, the feeling would be mutual,” Bruce replies. “Take care of yourself. If you need a break, let me know, and I’ll find a way to pick up the slack.” 

 

Pepper finds herself grateful once again for Bruce’s steady, solid presence in their lives. She loves Tony, but she’s always going to feel just a little bit like she has to watch over him. 

 

Tony might be Iron Man, and he might be really good at taking out terrorists and other threats, but Pepper has always operated under the assumption that he does better when someone is looking out for him. 

 

“How are you guys?” Pepper asks. 

 

“Overwhelmed,” Bruce says frankly. “But this was the kick in the ass we both needed to find an assistant. We’ve had a few applicants, and we’re going to run them through their paces.” He pauses. “I had thought about trying to get Fitz and Simmons back, but that might not be an option now.” 

 

Pepper knows Bruce better than that. If there’s any possibility that Fitz would need a job in a quiet location where he could recover at his own speed, Bruce will make the offer, regardless of how much help Fitz would be. 

 

“Let me know if there’s anything you need from me,” Pepper replies. “And the same offer of a break stands from my end.” 

 

“Phil is an idiot if he doesn’t do everything in his power to make you feel like the most important person on the planet,” Bruce says. “You deserve that.” 

 

Pepper smiles. “Tony’s a lucky man.” 

 

“So am I,” Bruce says. 

 

Pepper has to focus, because she wants to spend as much time as possible with Phil while he’s in town, and that means she has to clear some space on her calendar. 

 

She works through her task list methodically for the next couple of days, and on the third day she flies back to New York. Pepper has an apartment there, too, although not in the Tower. She likes to keep a little distance between her work and personal life, even if there’s not much difference most of the time. 

 

Pepper changes into something casual, and while she isn’t the best cook in the world, she’s picked up a few things over the years. She throws together a simple sauce for the halibut her grocery service delivered, and tosses a salad. When the doorman notifies her of Phil’s presence, she tells him to send Phil up, and she puts the fish into the hot pan to sear. 

 

She immediately sees his exhaustion in his rumpled suit and the dark circles under his eyes. “Hey,” he says wearily. 

 

Pepper pulls him into a hug, and feels him latch on strongly. “How long do you have?” 

 

“I shouldn’t be taking any time at all,” Phil admits. “But a couple of days. Melinda insisted.” 

 

“Sit down,” Pepper urges. “I’ve cleared my schedule.” 

 

Phil sits down heavily at Pepper’s kitchen table. “I’m probably not supposed to tell you this, but Fury made me director of SHIELD.” 

 

“He couldn’t have made a better selection,” Pepper replies, and goes to flip the fish. 

 

“Do you really think that?” Phil asks, and he sounds so heartbroken it makes Pepper’s chest ache sympathetically. “One of my team members was Hydra, Pepper. I handpicked him, and he was dirty.” 

 

Pepper turns to look at him. “There were a lot of people at SHIELD who were Hydra, Phil. Fury didn’t even know about it.” 

 

“I feel like I’m supposed to be better than that,” Phil replies. 

 

Pepper gives him a sympathetic look. “So, _be better_. But don’t take the entire weight of the situation on when it wasn’t of your own making. Tony and Bruce have been digging into SHIELD for a long time, and they hadn’t found anything by the time Hydra made their move.” 

 

“And as Stark likes to point out, they’re the two smartest men in the world,” Phil says with a huff. 

 

“If you ask Tony when he’s drunk, he’ll admit that Reed Richards is probably the smartest man in the world,” Pepper says. “Just don’t tell him I said that.” 

 

“And Hank Pym?” 

 

“There’s a very contentious rivalry going on there, and I try not to get involved,” Pepper replies. “I think Pym would have liked to snatch Bruce up to work for his company, and he’s disgruntled that Tony is proving him wrong by actually giving up on making weapons and trying to improve the world.” 

 

Phil frowns. “Proving him wrong?” 

 

“Hank Pym has said more than once that you can’t trust a Stark, and it would be better for the world if there wasn’t a Stark in it,” Pepper replies. 

 

Phil winces. “Harsh.” 

 

“Like I said there’s a complicated history,” Pepper says. “I hope you’re hungry.” 

 

“Starving,” Phil says. “Particularly for something that isn’t fast food. I haven’t had a home cooked meal in far too long.” 

 

Pepper smiles. “Prepare to be wowed.” 

 

Phil takes one bite and smiles. “Mission accomplished. Thank you.” 

 

“Any time,” Pepper replies, and just wishes that the times weren’t so far and few between. 

 

She’s already decided that she’ll take whatever she can get. 

 

 

Jennifer pauses outside of Steve’s hospital room, listening to the sounds of Marvin Gaye, and she leans against the wall, not wanting to interrupt. She hears murmurs, but she’s not trying to listen in, and the words are indistinct. Right now, she needs to catch her breath. 

 

She’s on thin ice at work right now, and she knows it. Stan hadn’t been wrong, and there are now reports that She-Hulk had been involved in the mess at the Triskelion.  

 

Granted, she’d been instrumental in _stopping_ the mess from getting worse, but she’s not sure that’s the kind of publicity her senior partners will be okay with. 

 

She’s just not sure _what_ she wants to do. Jennifer doesn’t want to give being a lawyer, but she can’t give up being a superhero either. 

 

“Hey.” 

 

Jennifer opens her eyes to see Sam standing in front of her, a worried expression on his face. “Hey.” 

 

“You looked like you were thinking pretty hard,” Sam says, reaching out to put a hand on her shoulder. “You okay?” 

 

“I don’t know,” Jennifer admits, able to be honest with Sam where she’s not sure she’d be able to manage it with anybody else. Not even Bruce. 

 

They might have patched things up between them, but there’s still a distance there. She’s pretty sure Bruce would tell her to leave her greener half behind, although maybe he would surprise her. 

 

“Anything I can help with?” Sam asks. 

 

Jennifer shrugs. “I don’t know. Can you talk to my bosses and have them be okay with me missing important events due to unforeseen Hydra-related emergencies?” 

 

“Things at work aren’t great, huh?” Sam asks. 

 

“No one has said anything, but I can tell that they’re thinking it,” Jennifer replies. 

 

Sam gives her a long look. “I’m about to say something you might not like very much.” 

 

Jennifer takes a deep breath. “Shoot.” 

 

“Until someone actually says something out loud, you don’t know what’s going through their heads,” Sam says. “Not unless you’re psychic.” 

 

She smiles. “I’m not.” 

 

“Okay, so use your words,” Sam says. “If you’re worried, talk to them before things get bad. If they want to keep you—and I don’t see why they wouldn’t—they’ll figure out a way to make it work.” 

 

“And if they don’t want to keep me?” Jennifer asks. 

 

Sam pats her on the shoulder. “Then you’ll pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and move on.” 

 

“What about you?” Jennifer asks. “What are you going to do?” 

 

“Long term? I don’t know,” Sam replies. “Short term, I’m going to take some time off, help Steve search for that friend of his.” 

 

Jennifer smiles. “That’s dedication.” 

 

“Well, I figure that Steve needs someone to watch his six,” Sam replies, and kisses her briefly. “Steve’s awake, and I have to make a phone call.” 

 

Jennifer smiles. “I’ll look out for him.” 

 

“I’d want you on my six,” Sam replies.  

 

“Call me if you ever need me,” Jennifer says. “I mean it.” 

 

“Will do,” Sam says. 

 

Jennifer sighs as she watches him go. They had some fun, but they both have different priorities right now. Maybe at some point in the future they’ll have the chance to reconnect. 

 

She sits down next to Steve’s bed and smiles at him. “How are you feeling?” 

 

“Like I got run over by a truck,” Steve admits. “You’ll never believe it, but that metal arm packs quite a punch.” 

 

Jennifer laughs. “Really? I figured it would be more like getting tickled.” 

 

“Well, and then I got shot,” Steve adds. “And then I nearly drowned. So, not the best day for me.” 

 

“Was it your friend?” Jennifer says. 

 

Steve closes his eyes. “Yeah, Bucky. He was the one who dragged me out of the river. I think.” 

 

“You want to tell me about it?” she asks. 

 

Steve closes his eyes. “Jen, they brainwashed him. He—he barely knew who I was. I don’t know if I can get him back.” 

 

Jennifer reaches out and grabs his hand. “Then you’ll find him, and you’ll _make_ him remember. If I can help in any way—” 

 

He squeezes. “I don’t think you can, but thanks.” 

 

“I know you’re going to be looking for him, but I think you should stop by the Tower before you do,” Jennifer says. “Sam’s going to need a new set of wings, and Tony and Bruce might have something to help.” 

 

Steve nods. “If you think I’ll be welcome.” 

 

“I think the Avengers are going to need to pull together,” Jennifer replies. “And that includes you.” 

 

Steve nods. “Hydra.” 

 

“Hydra,” Jennifer agrees. “I think we’re going to have to wait for the fallout, but after that?” 

 

“The hunt begins,” Steve says. “Tell Bruce and Tony I’ll be by before we get too far into things.” 

 

Jennifer nods. “Do you want me to stay with you?” 

 

“Think I might get some shuteye,” Steve replies. “But thanks for stopping by, Jen.” 

 

She kisses him on the cheek. “Of course. I’ll tell you the same thing I told Sam: call me if you need anything.” 

 

“I will,” Steve says. “Thanks for having my back.” 

 

“Of course,” Jennifer replies, and then makes a reckless promise that might end up coming back to haunt her. “Always.” 

 

 

Bruce watches as the committee goes after Natasha hard. She holds them off with practiced ease, and then she gets up and walks out. 

 

“She’s good,” Tony comments, taking a sip of his drink. 

 

“She’d better be,” Bruce replies. “They’re going to be looking at her pretty hard. She’s a spy, and they aren’t in favor these days.” 

 

Tony slams back his drink and pours another. “This is going to be a fucking mess.” 

 

Bruce doesn’t tell Tony to slow down because they’ve been working for the last week straight with barely a break to sleep or eat. They’re taking time now before they get sloppy and start missing things, but as it stands, they’ve been able to track down at least a dozen stranded SHIELD agents, and make inroads on finding some of the items that have gone missing from SHIELD inventory. 

 

It’s not enough, and it’s probably never going to be enough, but it’s all they’ve got right now. 

 

“Fuck,” Tony mutters wearily. “What time are they supposed to be here?” 

 

“I called Steve and told him to hold off,” Bruce replies. “They’ll be here around ten tomorrow. I promised pancakes.” 

 

Tony glances at him. “Are you managing me?” 

 

“No, I’m managing _us_ , because I’m fucking exhausted, and we haven’t had sex in over a week,” Bruce replies. “Excuse me for wanting a nice night with my husband without interruptions. I’ve already given instructions to Jarvis.” 

 

Tony grins tiredly. “You’re the best.” 

 

“Don’t you forget it,” Bruce says. “Pick your poison.” 

 

“Why am I the one picking?” Tony objects. “I’m too tired to pick.” 

 

Bruce has a brief internal debate. They’re both exhausted, and probably not up for much, although he’s pretty sure the release will do them both good. “Up.” 

 

“Where are we going?” Tony asks, although he follows willingly enough. 

 

“To bed,” Bruce replies. “Where I’m going to get you off, and I’m going to get off, and we’re both going to sleep.” 

 

“Dealer’s choice?” Tony asks. 

 

Bruce grins. “How about I give you a blowjob, and if you’re still awake, you can give me a hand?” 

 

“You’re too good to me,” Tony replies expansively. 

 

He’s a little bit drunk, and Bruce laughs and shakes his head. “Evidence would suggest otherwise.” 

 

Under other circumstances, Bruce might take his time with the blowjob, but Tony’s slight inebriation and his exhausted state means Tony’s going to be slow off the block. And _that_ means even pulling out every trick in the book still has Bruce’s jaw aching long before Tony comes and Brucw has to finish him up with his hand. 

 

Not that Tony voices any complaints, and he stays awake long enough to offer Bruce a helping hand, but he’s out pretty much the minute Bruce comes. 

 

Bruce cleans himself up, and then realizes that he’s not nearly as tired as he expected to be, and he doesn’t think he’ll be able to sleep. He pulls on his shorts and a pair of pants, and then tugs a t-shirt over his head. 

 

He doesn’t have the heart to look at the data from the SHIELD dump right now, so he pulls up an article he’s been meaning to read on some of the recent developments at CERN, and he pours himself a drink.  

 

He’s not interested in hard liquor, but he’s found that a beer or a glass of wine on occasion has a soporific effect, and it’s not quite 10 pm. Only Tony’s sheer exhaustion has him in bed and asleep at this relatively early hour. 

 

Bruce is halfway through his article—and his glass of wine—when Jarvis says, “Dr. Banner, Ms. Walters is calling if you’re available to take the call.” 

 

“Put her through,” Bruce replies. 

 

“Hey, cuz,” Jennifer says, sounding weary. “I wasn’t sure if you’d still be awake.” 

 

Bruce smiles. “I couldn’t sleep. Are you back in town?” 

 

“I am, and I’m in your area if you don’t mind me stopping by,” Jennifer replies. 

 

At this time of night, Bruce knows that whatever Jennifer wants to talk to him about, it’s important. “Of course.” 

 

Jennifer turns up about fifteen minutes later, wearing a business suit and tennis shoes, the uniform of a professional woman in New York City. She steps off the elevator, and Bruce can immediately tell that she’s shaken and unhappy, and he pulls her in for a hug. 

 

She clings to him a bit. “Hey.” 

 

“What’s up?” Bruce asks. “Are you okay?” 

 

“I just had a meeting with some of my senior partners,” Jennifer replies. “Basically, my involvement with SHIELD in D.C. paints the firm in a bad light, and they’re not sure that my priorities are in order. They haven’t made a final decision, but they want me to take some time off to ‘contemplate my future.’” 

 

Bruce can’t say he didn’t see this coming, but Jennifer doesn’t need to hear “I told you so” right now. “Can I get you a drink?” he asks. 

 

“Yes, please,” she replies, her reply muffled against his shoulder. 

 

He gets her a glass and sits down next to her, putting an arm around her shoulders. “Are you okay?” 

 

Jennifer sighs. “I don’t know. I mean, I don’t regret helping Steve for a minute. Maybe me being there didn’t make a difference, but—” 

 

“Jen, you saved lives,” Bruce insists. “From what I’ve heard, Brock Rumlow alone was poised to take out quite a few people.” 

 

She sighs. “I just don’t want to give up being a lawyer, but it’s not like superhero-ing is a strictly after-hours thing.” 

 

“Then maybe you should find a firm that will look at you being a superhero as a perk, rather than a problem,” Bruce suggests. 

 

“I thought that’s what I had,” Jennifer replies. “They were really supportive at first.” 

 

Bruce frowns. He expects her to sound troubled, but there’s more to it than that. “What did they ask you to do?” 

 

Jennifer stares at him. “How do you _do_ that?” 

 

“Magic,” Bruce says dryly. “Also, I know you. Let me guess, it was something to do with me and/or Tony.” 

 

“It was suggested that I could use my connection with the two of you to get Stark Industries’ business,” Jennifer replies. “I get that it’s a cutthroat world, but I also don’t like it when someone tries to use you guys against me, or me against you.” 

 

Bruce shakes his head. “They do realize that SI has their own in-house counsel, right?” 

 

“I don’t think they care,” Jennifer replies. “To be fair, I think it’s a couple of the partners who are pushing for it, thinking that if they have me over a barrel, they’ll have a shot at you guys.” 

 

“Is it an idea you want me to float with Pepper?” Bruce asks. 

 

Jennifer shakes her head. “No, because it’s shitty. I’ve done good work for them, Bruce, and while I would understand if it was just the superhero thing, the blackmail is something else altogether.” 

 

“What do you want to do?” Bruce asks. “Because you know Tony and I are going to bankroll the Avengers, and you _are_ an Avenger.” 

 

Jennifer gives him a dirty look. “I don’t want charity.” 

 

“Funny, what you call charity, I call taking care of each other,” Bruce says. “Besides, it’s half my fault anyway for getting you into this.” 

 

“I still wouldn’t change anything,” Jennifer admits. “I have some money saved, and they’re promising a generous severance package if the decision goes that way. I’ll figure it out.” 

 

Bruce pulls her in close. “You will, but if you need anything from me, promise you’ll let me know.” 

 

“Promise,” Jennifer replies. She glances at her watch. “It’s late. I should let you get to bed.” 

 

“I’m still not sleepy,” Bruce replies. “Do you want to stay awhile?” 

 

Jennifer lets out a sigh of relief. “Yeah, I do. I just didn’t want to be a bother.” 

 

“You’re never a bother,” Bruce says. “How about a movie?” 

 

“That sounds perfect,” Jennifer says with a sigh of relief. “Thanks for not saying ‘I told you so.’” 

 

Bruce refills her glass and says, “I think you know me better than that.” 

 

“You’re right, I do,” Jennifer replies. “Still, thanks.” 

 

“You’re welcome,” Bruce says. 

 

 

 

Tony wakes up when Bruce climbs into bed next to him, and a glance at the clock tells him that it’s past 2 am. “Where were you?” he asks. 

 

“Couldn’t sleep, and then Jen stopped by,” Bruce replies, with a quick kiss. “Go back to sleep.” 

 

Tony’s actually tired enough to do just that, at least for a few hours, waking at six when he’s slept out. He heads to the lab, deciding not to touch the data from SHIELD. They’ve done about as much as they can with the data as far as pressing matters are concerned. Further analysis will take additional hours worth of work, and Tony’s feeling a little burned out on it. 

 

So, instead, he starts making a to-do list of all the things to make, build, or buy if he’s going to build—or rebuild—the team. 

 

“Dr. Banner said to let you know that breakfast is ready and your guests have arrived,” Jarvis announces. 

 

“Great,” Tony says, saving his data. “I’m starving.” 

 

Bruce is in the kitchen flipping pancakes when Tony enters, and he ignores Steve and the new guy to refill his coffee and check in with Bruce. “Jennifer stay over?” he murmurs. 

 

“She said something about it being a four on the awkward scale,” Bruce whispers back. “I didn’t ask.” 

 

“She okay?” Tony asks. 

 

Bruce hitches a shoulder. “Talk to you about it later. Right now, you _could_ say hello to our guests.” 

 

Tony smirks. “Hello, guests.” 

 

“Tony,” Steve says evenly, and Tony’s a little disappointed not to get a rise out of him. 

 

“I’m Sam Wilson,” the other guy says, holding out a hand with a grin. “Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Stark.” 

 

Tony has to admit that he’s disarmed by the grin. “The pleasure’s all mine. I’ve heard some interesting things about that flight suit of yours.” 

 

“I think Sam might need a replacement,” Bruce adds, putting a plate with a stack of pancakes onto the bar. “I figure we can probably work on that while they’re running their errand.” 

 

“And what errand would that be?” Tony asks. 

 

Steve hesitates. “I’m looking for my friend. I think you can probably understand that.” 

 

“I can,” Tony replies, because he’d move heaven and earth for Bruce, so he at least has a frame of reference. 

 

Steve nods. “Jennifer said we should probably stop by before leaving.” 

 

“I think we can probably offer you a few goodies,” Tony admits. “And then, when you’ve found your friend, we can talk about how we’re going to put the Avengers together.” 

 

Steve looks at him, and then he laughs. “And Fury didn’t think you were a team player. You and Bruce were supposed to be the two people least likely to play well with others, and now you’re talking about bankrolling the team.” 

 

“Maybe Tony and I prioritize each other, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want what’s best for the team,” Bruce says. “And saving the world is pretty much our purpose in life.” 

 

“Great pancakes,” Sam says into the silence that follows. “Really good.” 

 

“Bruce is a fantastic cook,” Tony says. 

 

Steve nods. “Well, you can invite me over to eat your cooking any time.” 

 

Bruce raises an eyebrow. “I’ll keep that in mind, although next time I’ll put you to work.” 

 

“That seems fair to me,” Sam agrees cheerfully. 

 

They finish breakfast, and Tony gives both of them a Stark phone. “Stay in touch,” he says. “And if there’s anything we can do to help you find your friend, let us know.” 

 

“I appreciate it, Tony,” Steve says with a firm handshake. “Take care.” 

 

“You too,” Tony replies, and is a little surprised that he means it, and that he feels no antipathy towards Steve these days. That’s probably a good thing, considering they’re going to be working together. “Good luck.” 

 

Bruce has a quiet word with Sam, and Tony wonders if he’s giving Sam the shovel talk. 

 

“Next time you’re in town, I’ll take a look at the flight suit,” Tony promises Sam. “See if I can’t improve on it.” 

 

“Thanks, Mr. Stark,” Sam replies. “That would be awesome.” 

 

“Call me Tony,” he says. “And it will be a challenge, which I love.” 

 

When they’re gone, Bruce glances at Tony. “If we take this on, it’s going to be big, and it could open us up to other problems.” 

 

“I’ve thought about that,” Tony admits. “What about Jen? Did you give Sam the talk?” 

 

Bruce shook his head. “No, Jennifer said it wasn’t like that, and she’s figuring some things out. She’s fairly sure she’s not going to be able to keep her job.” 

 

Tony nudges Bruce’s shoulder. “I always said I’d hire her in a heartbeat.” 

 

“It might come to that,” Bruce replies. “But I guess we’ll see.” 

 

“So, what do you want to do today, Bruce?” Tony asks. 

 

Bruce glances around the lab and says, “I say let’s take a break.” 

 

Tony reaches out and interlaces his fingers with Bruce’s. “I think that can be arranged.” 


End file.
